Fill in the Blanks
by LuluCalliope
Summary: A plot to bring the fall of the Powerpuff Girls has commenced, and many villains in Townsville are behind it. But when some of them suspect foul play, the old rivalry may be set aside for a noble cause. Rated for violence and mild romance. Read and review
1. Chapter 1

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Introduction

Pages blank of everything but light blue lines streaking across their surfaces rest in front of me. Streaking in a neat formation of their own, not unlike that manner in which seven special children once soared into the sky…it was those seven children that got me where I am today. And I know that I should be grateful. A part of me is. But I will not, at least not for a while. I need to let myself adjust to my new change.

I finger the pages gingerly. I should fill in the blanks between the lines, I suppose. I should...but where would I begin? I sigh now, taking into my hand a small pen. I test it out. It's out of ink. I moan in exasperation and grab a pencil instead. It needs to be sharpened, but then again, so does my thinking.

At the end of my first encounter with the children, they were seven years old. Eight years passed between that and the beginning of our final meeting…and I am still five years older than them all. So much has changed. We are like dependant and independent variables…and I do not know which type I am. Was I manipulated, or was my change an accident? I cannot say…perhaps my pages will tell me.

* * *

A/N: There have been two fan fictions on the back of my mind lately: my Sherlock Holmes one, and this one. I went through a PPG face about a year or so back, and I had an idea for a fan fiction. I hope that everyone will enjoy this. Prepare for the largest gathering of villains in the history of Townsville!


	2. Chapter 2

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Chapter One

It was the boys I had the pleasure of meeting up with again before the girls. We—the trio of boys and the gang I was a member of—had received strange invitations to meet at the old MCA Arcade, located downtown in the city of Townsville. I was afraid to accept this invite, but my fear had nothing to do with the three boys. You may be asking yourself why they didn't scare me. Are you pulling my leg?

The Gangrene Gang has always consisted of five members. We seemed like the different parts of a human body. Snake was the mouth, always talking and ready with a comeback. Billy was the muscle, always there to back us up. He may not have been the smartest of us, but he helped us with the intimidation factor. Little Arturo was the eyes. He served as the lookout, the witness, and the observer. What more could a criminal want? Ace was our leader, and he was the perfect leader. He was a smooth talker, fast thinker, decent fighter, and had great vision. He had class, he had some self-respect, and he always had a plan or some great scheme hiding up his sleeves.

And then there was yours truly. I was the ears. I taught myself to be seen and not heard at all, and if I were to talk, I would always speak softly. I was the eavesdropper on important missions, a master of disguise, and Ace let me join the gang specifically for these reasons. But none of that is important. What's important is that…

…it was us against three little boys. They had been babysat alternatively by criminals that were more powerful than them, and they had never once come close to defeating the Powerpuff Girls…at least not as close at the Gangrene Gang. The three of them had no individuality, no personality, and no real brains. And if they were put against us…I think that they wouldn't have stood a chance. But I digress.

I had been afraid of the MCA Arcade since I was a kid—but then again, everyone had been. A lot of it had to do with what MCA allegedly stood for: the Morgue of Cursed Avatars. Some of the best gamers in the world had died inside of that old arcade, and their spirits were supposed to bring bad luck to everyone who ventured inside. Nobody in Townsville wanted extra bad luck. And the arcade's location was a kiss of death, too. It was in the filthiest areas of the city. Our hideout in the city dump had more class than it. I would have voted against going there, but Ace said otherwise.

"We've got to accept," he had claimed, pushing his favorite pair of black sunglasses up his nose. "It's only polite. And we're going to be infamous: the first gang to set foot inside the MCA Arcade in over three years." He had exhaled a breath of anticipation. "Think of the publicity we'll be getting."

Ace was like the president, and he would have vetoed my vote if I had told him that we should decline.

The invitation instructed us to arrive at the arcade at nine, but we figured that it would be best to go ahead of time, given that none of us knew what was to be expected of the unusual circumstances.

Artie scouted ahead. He gave the place a hasty once-over before returning, nearly out of breath. "We've got to hurry!" He gasped in that thickly accented voice he had. "We've got to hurry, or we might—"

Three colorful streaks flashed at the arcade, dashing towards us. When they stopped, they had taken the shapes of three familiar faces.

"—Not be the first gang to set foot inside the MCA Arcade," they answered in smug unison. We faced them coldly.

"Brick, Boomer, and Butch," Ace recited with some dignity. He wasn't going to recognize defeat in this situation. "The Rowdyruff Boys…what are you doing here?"

"First of all, we're the Rowdyruff Riffraff now," Brick insisted. He, as their leader, was clearly the most eager to speak. His voice took on a more suave quality as he added, "It isn't good for our image to be known as 'boys' now. We're fifteen years old now."

"The Rowdyruff Riffraff…how catchy," Snake muttered under his breath. Ace shot him a warning look, and Snake shut up.

"Second of all, we received an invitation," Boomer bragged, brandishing a piece of paper around. It was covered with the mysterious instructions that our gang had also received. Ace produced our copy in that moment, and the smug grins on the faces of the boys faltered a little, but did not fade.

"We were the first ones to set a foot inside of that old MCA Arcade in years," Butch said. He had a slurred voice and a very energetic demeanor, and I felt exhausted just by watching him. I had enough energy to groan in defeated disappointment, and so did everyone in the Gangrene Gang.

Boomer was chewing on a wad of gum, and he blew a bubble thoughtfully. "The MCA Arcade…does anyone know what those letters mean?" He asked when the bubble popped. He was very ignorant, and I knew that even Big Billy had more intelligence than him.

"It stands for the Morgue of Cursed Avatars," Ace answered. He had been keeping to himself ever since the appearance of the boys, and I had known that there were interesting thoughts blossoming inside of his mind during those moments. "Gamers have died in there, you know. And their spirits roam around inside, trying to protect it from those with evil or unfair intentions."

"Who would be the most evil person in the world set foot inside of some dumpy old arcade?" Brick wondered.

"Oh, I don't know," a high-pitched voice called out of nowhere. We all must have jumped about a foot into the air, and we began to look around for the speaker. "I might not be much of a video game player, but I am among the cruelest people to enter the MCA Arcade. Those dead gamers aren't much of protectors, now, are they?" A high, giddy laugh pierced the silence, and by the time I had clamped my hands over my ears, I had identified the speaker. And my feeling of dread did not decrease as the speaker appeared in a puff of smoke in the air above us, and I knew that because it was Him that had invited us, nothing good was going to come from coming to the MCA Arcade…

* * *

A/N: Yes, it's Him! *insert scary music here*

Is he the mastermind behind this? What's his plan?

By the way, the Arcade is actually named after Adam Yauch, one of the Beastie Boys, best known as MCA. He died on the fourth day of this month, and he was my personal favorite of the group. :'(

Review, please!


	3. Chapter 3

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Chapter Two

Call Him what you like—some of his more popular identities included Satan, the Devil, and Pazuzu. I always referred to Him as the Creature or the Monster. But the city of Townsville had always been afraid to call Him by his real name, which was forgotten in time. But people always kept in mind the things that were to be feared. He had scarlet skin and giant scarlet claws which made Him look like some possessed, deformed lobster or crab. His face was pointed, and a black goatee grew at the base of his chin. But what was the scariest were his eyes. Even Ace, with his dark sunglasses, couldn't look directly into them.

"I'm insulted, boys," the Creature pouted mockingly, gracefully floating down to meet us on equal ground. "I was sure that you would know that it was me who sent you those invitations. Really, who could it have been?"

"Good point," Ace muttered under his breath. This comment was ignored.

"You probably thought that you would be the first ones to arrive. Well, I have been here for quite a while, but look on the bright side: I saved you some seats. They're right across from where I'll be sitting, and everyone will get a clear view of everyone else. It's perfect," the Monster gushed, flashing a sickly smile. His yellow teeth gleamed in a light of their own, and he lifted himself off of the ground again, gradually floating towards the MCA Arcade again. We followed tentatively.

"Who else is coming?" Boomer asked, and I saw that his face was like that of his brothers—white as paper and blank of all real thought. I recalled vaguely that it was Him who was responsible for the majority of the Rowdyruff Boys' small victories against the Powerpuff Girls, but someone else had played a role in creating them…my mind drew a blank.

"Oh, the usual," the Monster replied casually. "Mojo Jojo…"

That's the one! My mind screamed triumphantly…

"And those Amoeba Boys will be coming, I hope, and that Sedusa, and darling little Princess Morbucks. Oh, my, I haven't seen her in ages…"

"You invited the Amoeba Boys?" Brick asked incredulously. The Gangrene Gang was keeping quiet, and I was glad of this. If someone was to die that night, it would have to be one of the Rowdyruff Riffraff. In spite of my dark thoughts, I smirked a little. Even the criminals without superpowers could take on the Amoeba Boys. Their little trio was, in short, pathetic.

"Oh, yes, well, I didn't want anybody important getting left out," the Monster explained condescendingly. "Everything is going to have to go according to plan."

"What plan?" Ace asked, and I flinched, not ready to see the mostly undefeated leader of our gang die at the hands of an unearthly force of evil.

"All in good time," was the ambiguous answer, and I relaxed again.

"Okay," Ace said, also relaxing a little—he had stiffened when he spoke up. "But why'd you invite Sedusa? Why do we need her?"

"Her only weakness is sharp scissors, and if those are kept away from her, then she will be an advantage in our cause."

"And you've forgotten Fuzzy Lumpkins," Boomer said loudly. His brothers were as silent as graves, and I realized that they weren't stupid enough or brave enough to speak up. I didn't know whether Boomer was to be the most admired member of their trio, or the least liked because of his wits.

"I haven't forgotten anything," the Monster bragged. "I contacted Fuzzy, and, ah, let's just say he won't be able to contribute much. In fact, he probably won't be making any headlines in the papers in the future. He's…gone into a little retirement."

This answer was so vague and so ominous that none of us made any comment on the mediocre criminal. Even though Fuzzy had plans that were not very well thought out or very well executed, he wasn't the worst of the criminals in Townsville—he was certainly better than the Amoeba Boys. The motivations behind his crimes were incredibly petty, and Ace always said that our gang had better causes than him, a crazy old hermit. So I guess he provided us with a feeling of…nobility, and we almost felt proud about ourselves when we read about the failures of Fuzzy.

My train of thought came to an abrupt halt on the tracks when Boomer spoke up again. "You invited Princess? Why?"

"She has three things that we will find of value to our cause: money, power, and eloquence. She is a prominent figure in the public, and even though she has not stirred up controversy in the public eye, she has not redeemed herself. She is worthy enough to be included."

We had arrived at the arcade now, and I bit my lip as we entered. The whole place was covered under a thick layer of dust. Cobwebs and spider webs clung to old games, and the lighting was poor. I could barely make out the sinister form of Him as he led us from one spacious room to another.

"I apologize for the mess," he called over his shoulder. "I was going to tidy it up, but my cleaning plans were delayed by the, ah, cause."

"What cause?" Brick asked in exasperation, and I rolled my eyes in silent agreement.

"All in good time," the Creature said with false sweetness.

He led us into one room that was clean, or at least neater than the others. All of the arcade games had been pushed against the walls, and a large, circular table was placed in the center of the room. Most of the chairs around the table were plain, but a grand throne stood in the place of another. I didn't look at it too much, but I knew that it was for Him. The lighting was better, and I could see that there was a brand name carved into the side of the table…

_Morbucks Furnishing_…

"Ahem," a more feminine voice called out softly, and I cried out in shock and recognition. "Doesn't anyone remember me?"

* * *

A/N: "All hail Morbucks! Thou shalt be Queen hereafter!" Oh, I'm terrible at Shakespeare. I apologize for that.

This was a fun chapter to write. I am not a big fan of Him, but he is a lot of fun to play around with and write about.


	4. Chapter 4

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Chapter Three

"How could anyone forget about you, Your Majesty?" Butch asked, dropping into a mocking curtsy. The girl standing in the doorway rolled her eyes.

"I still haven't forgiven you for crashing into Daddy's car…or for refusing my offer to team up and defeat the Powerpuff Girls," she huffed. I stared at her, shocked. I had seen pictures of the criminal Princess Morbucks from her youth. Eight years ago, she had donned a golden dress similar to the ones worn by the Powerpuff Girls. She had worn her frizzy red hair up in two ponytails, which she had hidden behind a golden tiara, and she was incredibly petulant and loud-mouthed. She had undergone a transformation since her last crime spree. Her red hair hung loose, framing a startlingly pretty heart-shaped face that was sprinkled with freckles. Her look was more conservative, less clichéd—the gold dress had been exchanged for a soft, canary yellow sweater, a black skirt, and yellow ballet flats. Only two things displayed that she was of an extraordinarily wealthy family. One was what replaced the golden tiara: a diamond-encrusted one, which clung daintily to the crown of her head. The other was the diamond-encrusted clutch she held in her carefully manicured hands.

The boys had also gone through a transformation—their third one. They didn't look clean-cut or rebellious now, but they still looked tough. They wore loose T-shirts that hung over jeans now and little alterations had been made to their physical appearances here and there. Butch, for example, had a fake tattoo on his right shoulder, and it was one in his likeness. I knew that it wasn't a real one—not one tattoo parlor would do business with a fifteen-year-old. Brick had a new diamond earring in his left ear, and his hair was grown longer, long enough to wrestle into a ponytail of his own. And Boomer had his hair his spiked up into some ridiculous Mohawk. The only things that hadn't really changed about the boys were their signature colors: dark red (Brick), dark green (Butch), and dark blue (Boomer).

"But I digress," Princess continued, strutting from the doorway to the table. She sat on top of it pertly before she addressed the Rowdyruff Riffraff again. "I have my own car, now." And then she looked to us, the Gangrene Gang. "I don't believe we've met in person, gentlemen. I'm Princess Morbucks. I have heard a…lot about you." She smirked, and I saw the shadow of the impertinent criminal pass over her features quickly as she turned to Ace. "Isn't it true that you managed to get Buttercup on your side? How on earth did you manage to do that?" She leaned forward eagerly, and Ace bit his lip. His sunglasses fell down the bridge of his nose a little, and he didn't bother to adjust them. He didn't like thinking about what had happened between him and Buttercup when we were younger: she was seven, and we were twelve.

First of all, we all felt a twinge of shame and embarrassment whenever we recalled the days in which we had been twelve-year-old delinquents. If we had been older, we would have probably been viewed with just as much respect as Mojo Jojo or the more advanced criminals.

Second of all, it had been Ace's brilliant idea to sweet-talk the toughest Powerpuff Girl, Buttercup. She had been cute, for a seven-year-old, and she really had looked up to us. She hadn't taken it very well when she discovered us trying to get rid of her sisters. Ace had spent about a week in the hospital as doctors tried to heal his broken nose. They also offered to cure us of our gangrene, but—

"Oh, I'm sure that he had his ways," the Monster cooed when Ace didn't answer Princess's question. Princess stiffened when it was Him that turned to her. "How is your father, by the way?"

"Does that matter?" Princess asked in a voice barely above a whisper. She began to drum her manicured nails anxiously on the table. "You invited me here, not Daddy, didn't you?"

"Yes, and I am quite delighted to see that you have made it here. However, it is your father that is financing your involvement in this project, and I want to make sure that nothing happens to him…and that nothing will need to happen to him." The Creature's high-pitched voice became a little darker, and Princess froze, her fingers hovering above the table's surface.

"He doesn't even know why I'm here. He doesn't know what his money is being used for," she explained.

"Keep it that way," the Monster ordered. He hadn't stopped floating since he had entered the room, but he now descended into that ridiculous throne that was placed at the table. "Don't tell him what we're doing until I tell you to, and don't let him use his resources against us. If so, things could get messier than needed…" His voice brightened, and it was back to that irritating squeak he had. "Please, everyone, sit down. The others will be joining us soon, I think."

"You are correct," a gruff voice boomed from the doorway, and we all turned to face the most well-known nemesis of the Powerpuff Girls, Mojo Jojo. "It is I, Mojo Jojo, here to annihilate, destroy, pummel, and, in short, crush those puny Powerpuff Girls!"

It was hard to take Mojo seriously. He was a monkey with green skin and an enormous brain. Wouldn't that description make you giggle? And even though he had an incredibly high intelligence—he was probably smarter than Him—he was not the best strategist. Almost all of his plans were failures: miserable failures.

Still, we put up with Mojo because of his intellect. And he did have some of the best weapons in all of Townsville, if not the world. So his intimidation factor was higher than average, and that earned him villainy points in my book.

He strutted into the room, ignored the Creature's outstretched claw, and placed himself in a chair by the table. He didn't talk to anybody unless they talked to him.

And then the Amoeba Boys showed up. No one heard them come in, and I think that they were probably going for the stealth image. It didn't work very well. I think that they expected someone to cry out, "Ah, it's those dreadful Amoeba Boys! How did you get in?" But they had to clear their throats in order to get our attention, and no one really wanted to talk to them.

There was an awkward silence in the room for a while as we all waited for Sedusa, one of the only female villains in Townsville. Speaking of the female villains, Princess's phone rang after about five minutes, and she answered in huffily.

"What is it? Look, I went over this with you: red to black, you're okay, Jack. Red to yellow kills a fellow. I need the red and yellow ones, not the red and black ones. How stupid can you get? That was a rhetorical question, you idiots! Get me those snakes ASAP, or I will see you boiling in a pit of acid! Gosh!" She hung up the phone and rolled her eyes. She texted something to a different person, muttering, "What does a person need to do to get her private Snake Pit? Is that too much to ask?"

"Not with me," Sedusa bragged. We all rolled our eyes. It had taken her forever, but now she was here. Her bizarre hairstyle hadn't changed a bit, and her clothes were still the same. I didn't know what to think about that, only that I wasn't too thrilled to see her. The rest of the Gangrene Gang seemed to be on the same page as me, because we invited the Amoeba Boys to sit in the vacant seats next to us, not her. She scowled at us briefly before taking the one seat remaining: the one next to Him.

"I think since everyone is here," the Monster said, placing his feet elegantly on top of the table. "We can get down to business. None of you know why you are here, and I think that we should change that." He removed his feet from the table and suddenly stood, pacing around the table slowly. We all stiffened, not sure of what he was going to do now. "I have been working on this plan for months, and stages one and two of it are complete."

"How many stages are there?"

"What is this plan?"

"Yeah, and what were the stages? What are they?"

The Monster held up one claw. We all became silent before he continued. "I know you're all very excited about this. Now, this is an extremely elaborate plan. There are many stages. The first two were the simple ones…or at least the second one was. The first one was a bit of a struggle, but I was able to pull it off in the end. It's the third stage that we should all be concerned about. You all have a role in it," he assured us, smiling. "And the fourth stage will be as easy as pie if stage three is a success, and stage five will be smooth sailing. And stage six, I can tell you, is the best one: it's where we retire from this grand scheme in the lap of luxury."

I smiled. Riches were always temping to me.

"Stage two was simple. The sole purpose of it was to bring you here tonight. And you all have come..."

"What about the first stage?" Snake blurted out, and the Creature rolled his eyes.

"Honestly, some people have no appreciation for dramatic tension," he muttered. But then the most evil of all smiles broke out, and I couldn't help but quiver as he said:

"Stage one was to kidnap the Powerpuff Girls."

* * *

A/N: Phew! Hard chapter to write, but I'm glad that I pulled it off. I had a lot of fun with Princess. Her character is so devious at times! Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Chapter Four

The shocked silence that had followed the Creature's statement was broken by the rest of us saying in unison, "What?" Big Billy, Little Arturo and I were frozen by the impact of this news, but others actually leapt to their feet, including Ace, Princess, and the Rowdyruff Riffraff.

And the Monster grinned again. "It wasn't easy," he said nonchalantly. "But I did manage to catch them off guard. They weren't much of a threat after that. They're locked up safe and sound upstairs." He pointed to the ceiling with one of his claws. "Would any of you care to leave them a message? I'll be sure that they get it." He giggled maniacally, and we all forced ourselves to join him briefly. But this bout of laughter ended, and the Monster suddenly became the strategist that Mojo Jojo would never be. I found myself listening attentively to Him. "And you're all eager to know what parts you are to play in the grand scheme. Well, here we are. Stage three has begun.

"Mojo Jojo, we'll require your skills at inventing. You are going to build something totally different from anything you've built in the past. This is the most important part of stage three, and we can't move onto stage four until you've completed it. I expect nothing less than perfection from you.

"Princess, you're going to have to take on multiple roles. In addition to financing Mojo's project, you're going to have to keep the public awareness at a minimum. You'll also be handling some negotiations with the Mayor.

"Sedusa, you're going to help Princess by stealing the limelight away from the rest of us. Commit some petty crimes and rob some banks, or whatever. If you do get caught, I'll help you get out of trouble with the law. You'll also be taking the Amoeba Boys under your wing for a while, they can learn a lot from you.

"Were you three listening? The Amoeba Boys are going to do some…training with Sedusa for the time being. In addition to that, you three will have to play the guinea pig in one more additional experiment I want Mojo to conduct. If the experiment is a success, you three can be the main source of protection for the hideout.

"Gangrene Gang, you'll be on guard duty. Guard the Powerpuff Girls and monitor their behavior. We're going to need to know everything about them—fight patterns, superpowers, personal strengths, and personal weaknesses—to prepare for the following stages. Befriend them if you must, but I expect a detailed report on them.

"Rowdyruff Boys—"

"Riffraff—"

"—whatever, you'll be on guard patrol as well. Mojo and I may need to run some experiments on you after we have gathered sufficient information on the girls. We'll need you to have superior powers in the coming stages…and we can't have any mess-ups like we did in the past, now, can we? Now," the Monster beamed, looking around at us all. "Are there any questions?"

The room erupted with several complaints.

"Why do I have to take the Amoeba Boys under my wing?" "Why do we need training? We're tough, aren't we?" "Why do we need to play the guinea pig again?" "Why do we need to be on guard duty?" "What kind of invention are you talking about?"

"Enough!" The Monster called out, raising a claw. We all fell silent. "Now, Sedusa, you're one of the most valuable members of this new…team we have. You're going to have the most valuable advice to offer the boys. Now, I know that you Amoeba Boys are tough, but you are not quite tough enough. With Sedusa's training and Mojo's experiments, you should be fit enough for the guard duty. Mojo, I have a rough sketch laid out of the invention I brought up earlier, but feel free to make modifications to the design." And then he turned his gaze on the Gangrene Gang. "I need for you to be on guard duty because you have gained their trust in the past…and you have come pretty close to succeeding at several crimes before, and I have faith in you now. The same goes for you, Rowdyruff. You three may join them, if you must, on guard duty. It may help with comparisons between your styles in fighting.

"Stage three begins tonight." The Creature threw Ace something: a bronze key. "This is the key to upstairs. The Gangrene Gang will be spending all of their time up there from now on. The Rowdyruff Riffraff are permitted to visit them to help along with the observations." A thick piece of blue paper was tossed at Mojo, who caught it with a scowl. "Mojo, this is the outline of your invention. You may get started on it tonight. Princess, go and withdraw some money for the supplies needed." The eyes of Him suddenly widened, and he exclaimed in his shrill voice, "Oh, you're like in teams of two groups now! Team Guards, Team Inventions, and Team Distractions…isn't that wonderful?" He didn't wait for us to answer. "Are there anymore questions?"

"I have one," Snake said, speaking up for the first time in a while. "What do you come into all of this? What role do you play?"

The Monster smiled. "I'm very glad you asked that." He resumed floating in the air. "I've placed the girls in a state that has robbed them of all the powers currently known to them. If they have any powers that we don't know of, the Gangrene Gang and Rowdyruff Boys—"

"—Riffraff—"

"—whatever, they'll be sure to pick up on them. And I'm also the mastermind behind this. I hope you don't forget that." His voice became soft as he spoke the last word, and he glared at us all with those awful eyes. "And I do have some…other tasks to keep myself busy with back…well; you'll call it Underground, won't you? Those are going to be terribly demanding of my time, but these are jobs that only I can take." He waved at us. "Goodbye for now, everyone. Get started on your tasks, and I want a report from at least one member of every team in this spot, same time tomorrow." He laughed before he vanished in a puff of smoke, and I gasped, not realizing that I had been holding in my breath ever since he had assigned us our jobs…

* * *

A/N: In the next chapter, we're going to see the Powerpuff Girls! (Except now they're teenagers...) Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Chapter Five

Ace unlocked the door, which he had to push against in order to open. The Rowdyruff Riffraff lingered in the air behind us, quivering with excitement. We all gasped at what laid behind the heavy door. It was a long, empty corridor, carpeted in orange. There only object in here was in the direct center of the hall, and it looked like a giant glass box. And in the giant glass box, there were three figures.

We dashed up to meet them, hardly daring to believe a word of what the Monster had told us before. But they were there, and it was obvious that they had gone through their own transformations over the years. Their dresses were gone, having been traded for different outfits. Their eyes were still big and still the same color, but they looked slightly prettier with a small amount of makeup.

The leader, blossom, wore faded jeans and a bright pink tank top to match her eyes. It set off her light red hair a little, which had been tied up with a bow in the past. But now it hung free, covering her shoulders. If she had stood up, it would have barely reached the small of her back.

Bubbles, the sweet innocent, still flaunted baby blue. It was the color of her T-shirt, skinny jeans, and eyes. Her light blond hair reached the top of her shoulders, and it was pin straight, which was a little unusual for her, because her hair used to be so wavy.

And then there was Buttercup. Her green eyes matched the color of her tank top, and her black hair, which had grown curlier, matched the color of her skirt. Small parts of her midriff and cleavage were now visible, and this was a bold change from the innocent little crime-fighter look.

Butch took one look at her and coughed, "Slut." His brothers burst out laughing. Ace glared at them.

"It's nice to see you, too," Blossom retorted sarcastically, coming to her sister's rescue. She had been resting in the corner of the "room", but she now stood and faced us. Her hair did reach the small of her back, I thought, but I paid no attention to it. I was more than a little scared of the way she looked at us. "And it's nice to see your fourth makeover, boys."

"Third," Brick corrected. "And it's the Rowdyruff Riffraff now."

"How adorable," Bubbles muttered with false enthusiasm. She was stretched out on the floor, staring up at the ceiling, deep in thought.

"So they're back with tough hair, tough clothes, and a tough name? And when we kick your butts again, it'll only be even more pathetic than the last few times," Blossom continued.

"You're not kicking anyone's butt this time," Snake smirked. "You've lost your powers, and no one knows where you are."

"Not yet," Bubbles said in a sing-song voice.

"Who would look for you?" Boomer asked.

"Oh, the Professor would, for starters…and then the Mayor would be very concerned if his three best crime-fighters failed to show up…and our teacher might get more than a little suspicious…"

"The Mayor is going to be wrapped up around our thumb by the end of the week," Snake bragged. "And that silly Professor couldn't get in here if he tried, much less a school teacher."

"Whatever," Buttercup said, speaking up for the first time. It was nice to not hear her threatening us for a change. She stood and walked up to the glass. "What are you guys doing here?" Snake started to answer her question, but Ace socked him in the shoulder and answered her himself.

"I thought that maybe we could talk. Get to know you better for a change, you know?" He put on his sweetest smile, the one that he had used when we first met the girls on a playground.

"Oh, so you can take the information and report it back to Him? I don't think so," Blossom said, and II groaned inwardly. She was a lot smarter than we remembered her.

"And we wouldn't want to talk to you even if you weren't working for Him," Buttercup added, sulking.

I quietly took notes mentally, not just of their physical appearance, but of their attitudes. They hadn't changed at all. Buttercup was still acting coldly to us.

"Well, we're going to be up here every day and night from now on," Snake said.

"On the night patrol, of course," Blossom stated, rolling her eyes. I narrowed my own, hating how transparent the grand plan the Monster had laid out was turning out to be.

"And we'll be bringing you food," Ace added, and the three girls perked up.

"Fine, but we don't want to talk to you," Buttercup told him.

"Well, we'll be able to learn a lot about you," Snake gloated. "People can learn a lot about each other by staying silent. Isn't that right, Grubber?" I nodded silently, blowing a small raspberry. The girls groaned in exasperation.

"Can you just leave us alone now? We've had a busy day, and we want to get as much sleep as possible." Blossom said primly. I mentally noted that they seemed to require a lot of sleep.

"As you wish, princesses," Butch called as the boys zoomed down the corridor.

"Good luck sleeping without a bed," Snake told them, only to receive one final punch from Ace. "Will you stop that?" He whined, rubbing his shoulders and jaw.

We followed the boys down to the first floor, contemplating every word that the girls had said to us. Ace instructed me to record the conversation we had had onto paper, which I would deliver to Him, along with descriptions of what little traits that stayed the same even without their superpowers.

I sighed. This was going to be a long night. And I didn't know how long stage three was going to take, but I wished Mojo Jojo a lot of luck on building that fancy invention, whatever it was.

* * *

We had a silent argument with the Rowdyruff Riffraff over who would get the first guard duty. Ace said that one member from each gang should stay up and monitor the girls. He didn't trust Snake to be around them, so he volunteered Little Arturo and Butch. The boys seemed to like that pairing okay, so they were assigned the first shift.

But Ace led us back to our hideout in the dump, where we compared notes. Big Billy let out an enormous sigh of relief once the door closed. "I'm scared!" He bawled.

"What of?" Ace wondered.

"I think that the scary lobster man is going to unleash…um…zombies!" He wailed, and I rolled my eyes. So did Snake.

"There's no such thing as zombies," he pointed out. "And how is he going to get a bunch of zombies?"

"By resurrecting them from the dead, duh," Ace pointed out. "He's in the Underground. He can master several dark forces."

"Why are you taking his side?" Snake pointed out over Billy's wails of fright. "I thought you didn't want to scare Billy."

"I don't," Ace insisted, patting Big Billy's shoulder encouragingly.

"Then can we change the subject?"

"Yes!"

"Good!"

"Do you have anything to say?"

"No, not really…"

"Then shut up!" Ace punched Snake again in the shoulder.

"Stop that," Big Billy sniffled, addressing Ace. "I don't like that."

"Fine, I won't punch anyone for the rest of the day. There, are we all happy? Can we talk about the girls? Did anyone notice anything unusual? Anything at all…?"

"Aside from those ungodly big eyes, lack of fingers, lack of real noses, and arms that overlap when they're crossed, I think that they look about as normal as Princess."

"Didn't they used to come up with special powers on their own? Like Blossom could blow ice breath and Bubbles could talk to animals and speak Spanish…"

"Yeah, but we know about these powers. And they can't come up with any new techniques without their simple abilities." I nodded in agreement.

"What was Buttercup's special power?" Ace wondered.

"I don't remember," Snake admitted, and I shook my head. Big Billy shrugged. "But I'm sure that…our new boss remembered. Nothing slips past his mind."

"I'm sure it doesn't," Ace muttered, and Billy trembled again.

"So let's relax," Snake proposed, kicking off his shoes. "I'm sure that Artie will pick up on anything that doesn't seem right."

"Yeah," Ace nodded. "Yeah, that's it." He slouched over in his favorite chair, pushing the sunglasses up his nose. "Let's just get some rest."

Snake closed his eyes before sitting up and staring at Ace haughtily. "By the way, isn't it the Bogeyman that runs the Underground? I could have sworn that it was…"

"No, our boss could take him on any time," Ace mumbled, not flinching at this statement.

"Um, no, it's the Bogeyman that calls the shots."

"No, it's Him!"

I closed my eyes and bit down on my knuckle to keep myself from screaming. These next few days were going to be harder than I thought they would be…

* * *

A/N: Between the Powerpuff Girls, Ace and Snake's bickering, and stage three, I think that Grubber is at the end of his rope. I'm sorry for those who don't like the zombie joke; my brother made me write it in…out of curiosity, who do you think runs the Underground world: is it Him, or the Bogeyman?

Please review! :)


	7. Chapter 7

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Chapter Six

Little Arturo and Butch ran up to meet us when we came by the next day. (And by the next day, I mean the next afternoon. The Gangrene Gang consisted of people that preferred sleeping late over almost anything else.) They revealed that they had found a small opening in the glass, like a tiny window or a slot, and food could be placed inside. Ace disappeared for a moment, and he returned with a plate of sandwiches that would serve as a crude lunch.

Blossom and Bubbles took the sandwiches gratefully, but, oddly enough, it was Buttercup who began to examine the contents of the food gingerly and cautiously. "Who made these?" Apparently the promise to never speak to us while in captivity had been forgotten.

"I did, duh," Ace said immediately.

"You washed your hands before you touched these, right?" Her sisters stopped chewing. "What did you even put in these, anyway?"

"Since when did you become a picky eater?" Ace teased. The rest of us sensed a good argument coming, and we sat back to enjoy the show.

"Since when did you become a master chef?" She shot back.

"Since when did you become a germophobic?"

"Since when did you start using big words?"

"I'm…more than a little literate," Ace said. The Rowdyruff Riffraff burst out laughing, and Blossom smirked a little. "Fine, you caught me. I'm a little literate."

"Can you read a cookbook? You didn't answer my question about what you put into these," Buttercup taunted.

"Bacon, lettuce, and tomato on rye bread with Swiss cheese," Ace recited, rendering Blossom and Buttercup speechless.

"It's quite yummy," Bubbles complimented.

"Don't say or do anything nice for him," Buttercup warned.

"And why shouldn't they?" Boomer demanded. His stomach rumbled, and it looked like he was contemplating asking Ace to make him a sandwich.

"Let's go ask that vat of acid you tried dipping my sisters in," Buttercup said, ignoring Boomer.

"Get over it," Ace said, frustrated with the grudge. "You were seven years old. How old are you girls now? Thirteen or fourteen…?"

"We'll be sixteen on July 21st, thank you very much," Blossom said, disgruntled at being thought of being younger than she really was.

"Us, too," Brick suddenly said. "We'll be sixteen three weeks after that."

"Good for you," Bubbles said sarcastically.

"Anyway, remind us again…why are you talking to us? I thought that you weren't going to," Boomer pointed out.

"We're bored," Bubbles complained, twirling a strand of hair around her hand. (I would say finger, but she didn't really have any.) "We've got nothing to do, except talk to you guys." Her sisters nodded in reluctant agreement.

"I don't know what we can do about that," Snake said.

"You'll figure something out, I think," Blossom told him. "After all, we're the entertainment for Him. And if his rivals start getting uninteresting, this could have a bad effect on his plans."

"What do you know about them?" Ace asked.

"About the same as you," Buttercup said. "All we know is that it stinks not being able to fly around or see through walls or anything."

"What does it feel like?" Butch asked. "What's it like being normal?"

They shrugged. "It's kind of…bland, but not very different from before." Blossom chewed on her lower lip, thoughtful.

The rest of our time was spent in thoughtful silence.

* * *

We were all terrified of going to see Him alone, so we were all more than a little relieved when we agreed to go downstairs together. The girls had fallen asleep, and we thought that they would be able to get by without a guard for a little while. After all, there hadn't been a guard nearby when the Creature summoned us to the arcade for the first time.

I had thought that our "team" would be the first one to arrive, but Princess and Mojo were already waiting for us. She was filing her nails daintily, and she examined them carefully as she said, "You guys are running behind schedule."

"Give us a break," Butch muttered. "You don't know how hard it is."

"Oh, yes, watching after three people with no superpowers or technology must be exhausting," she said sarcastically.

"I had the night watch!" He protested, and she raised her eyebrows, as if to say that he had made a good point. There wasn't a chance for a real argument to break out, because Sedusa walked in with the Amoeba Boys. They took their seats, and I saw that she looked even more tired and exasperated than the rest of us.

And the Monster showed up soon, appearing in his usual puff of smoke. He wasted no time, and we got right down to business. "Princess, Mojo…how's the invention coming along?"

Mojo growled. "This is ridiculous! This is impossible, improbable, and impractical! This is beyond all of the laws of science and technology, and I, Mojo Jojo, am at a loss for words!"

"Obviously, you're not," the Monster said wryly.

Princess was calmer. "It…can be done, I think. A lot of the basic parts are going to take a lot longer than expected to acquire. I'm trying to get everyone to hurry it along, but they're all so lazy, stupid, or both. And the expenses on some of these pieces are going to require…bargaining. I've enlisted a few of Daddy's friends to help me, but this is going to be a very long wait." She threw Him a sheet of paper, which I saw had numbers and prices scrawled all over it.

"What if this doesn't work the first time? What if this ends in failure?" Mojo asked boldly.

"I won't have failure," The Monster said at once, not looking up from the paper. "Keep trying and trying until you get this right. Is that understood?" The two nodded. "Good. Sedusa, how's the, ah, training coming along?"

"This is impossible," she said through gritted teeth. "They just won't learn. It's like I'm trying to teach a wall mixed martial arts!"

"Practice makes perfect," the Creature said encouragingly. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!" She nodded, and the Amoeba Boys nodded once. And then the focus was on us. "How are the girls behaving?"

"They aren't really that big of a threat," Ace said. "They're more like a minor nuisance. They complain that they're bored." I tossed Him a large packet of papers that contained our observations.

The Creature smirked, skimming over the paper. "Well, isn't that a lovely coincidence! I've actually put a lot of thought behind this, and I think that the girls should be allowed more free space." He tossed us something, and Brick caught it. "That's the key to the glass box. You'll find that there are now more rooms upstairs. The girls will each get their own bedroom. We're going to go for a new angle with this. Try isolating them and figure out their personal strengths and weaknesses, as well as how much they depend on each other. Got it?" Ace and I nodded, and so did the rest of our "team", although most of them probably didn't understand most of the fancy tactics.

I think that the Monster was, overall, satisfied with our reports. He stood up from that ridiculous throne, beaming at us all. "Well, thank you so much for showing up. And it's always nice to…" His voice trailed off, and his eyes did a rapid sweep around the table. "…see you all…here?" His high-pitched voice suddenly became demonic as he addressed our "team". "If you all are down here, then is there anyone guarding the girls upstairs?"

I swore silently, but Boomer spoke up tentatively. "Um, no one is, but you know us…we're here one moment, but somewhere else the next…"

"YOU IDIOTS, they're going to escape!" The Monster screamed, and everyone jumped about a foot into the air.

"There weren't any guards last night," Brick pointed out, amazingly keeping his cool. "They won't—"

He was cut off by the metallic tinkle of glass shattering from upstairs, followed by the soft pound of feet running around…

* * *

A/N: Uh-oh! Looks like they have a jail break on their hands! And Grubber and Brick did make a good point…there weren't any guards before, so what's bothering Him? Review, please? :)


	8. Chapter 8

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Chapter Seven

"_Did you even lock the door_?" The Monster screamed, now hysterical. The footsteps were getting louder…closer…they were running down the stairs…

Ace held a finger to his lips, and he mouthed, "Follow me," to Big Billy, Snake, and the Rowdyruff Riffraff. They followed him silently out of the room, leaving Him silently fuming with rage. The sounds of a struggle came from outside, and the missing members of the "team" returned. The girls held their hands in the air, a sign of surrender. Buttercup's knuckles were bloody, and I saw a few shards of glass sticking out of her skin.

"How long were you planning on this?" The Monster asked, calming down. His voice held a demonic note to it, and I hoped that the girls wouldn't say or do anything stupid.

No such luck. "Improvised, I guess," Buttercup said casually, lowering her hands. She examined the damage done.

"It's amazing what comes to mind when you're imprisoned," Blossom added half-heartedly.

"You told your sister to punch the glass?" Mojo asked, stunned.

"No, idiot," Buttercup snapped, rolling her eyes. "I was tapping on the glass, and I just kept tapping harder and harder until…BAM!" She thrust her fist in front of her at the last word. "And we were free."

"And what, pray tell, were you going to do with that freedom?" The Monster asked, tapping one scarlet claw on the surface of the table, impatient.

"We just wanted to run far enough away to find a pay phone," Bubbles said, scuffing her feet against the ground.

"Oh, is that all?" The Monster sneered, completely serene now. "Well, if you want to see him that badly, I suppose I could have him brought here…"

"No, don't!" Blossom gasped, and her sisters began trembling from some mixture of shock, rage, fear, and despair.

"Actually, the more I think about it, this isn't that bad of an idea," the Creature said, speaking more to himself as he ignored the girls. "He is one of the biggest threats to our plan…getting him out of the picture could speed up stage three…" He turned to Princess. "Call him. Invite him here."

"What are you going to do to him?" She demanded, her skin as blank and as white as computer paper.

"Call him, and you'll see when he gets here," the Creature said, his voice containing a warning note.

Princess noticed it. She bit her lip, nodded, and pulled out her cell phone. "I got no reception. Hold on." She tapped on the surface a few times before holding the device to her ear. She shot us a look that told us to shut up before she wandered into another room. We overheard her side of the conversation.

"Hello? Oh, oops…um, hi, Professor Utonium? I'm Princess Morbucks. And I have some…valuable information regarding the whereabouts of your daughters. Would you be kind enough to give me a call later? My house number is 523-555-4463. If I am unable to answer the phone, my butler will take your calls. Um…talk to you soon!" She hung up the phone and reappeared a few moments later. "I got his answering machine. I left him a message, telling him that we can talk later."

"Good," the Creature nodded. "Get in contact with him. Who knows? I might find some use for him in our cause."

"The Professor would never work with any of you!" Buttercup asserted. "He has more brains and more nobility than any of you!"

"Hey!" Princess said angrily. "For your information, I happen to be a distant cousin of the Gabor family." To all of the blank faces that stared back at her, she sighed and said, "They were Hungarian royalty."

"I think that our dear Powerpuff was referring to the other type of nobility," the Creature said condescendingly. "They are such stupid girls, aren't they?" He laughed, and the girls began shaking with fury again, angered at being called 'stupid'. "Take them back upstairs…and _LOCK THE DOOR_ this time!" Our "team" complied, escorting the girls out of the room.

But before we left, Ace said under his breath, "They wouldn't have gone very far without their powers. What's with all the sudden concern? It's exactly like the night before."

"IT'S _COMPLETELY_ DIFFERENT!" The Monster screamed, and we all watched Him launch into a fit of rage so powerful that steam actually began to lift off of his fiery skin. "Do you think this is all just another SILLY plan to take over this SILLY town? NO! It's _COMPLETELY DIFFERENT_! And if we don't execute this PERFECTLY, then I—"

"Then you'll what?" There was a moment of stunned silence, broken by Him. He shot us all a look of dreadful contempt before, as was customary, he vanished in a puff of smoke. We assumed that the meeting was over.

* * *

The girls didn't put up much of a fight as we walked upstairs. We shoved them into the corridor before us, and we saw that the Creature had been true to his word again. There were more rooms now, and their doors were open. We power-walked—or, in the case of the Riffraff, flew—up and down the corridor, peering in at the rooms, which included three bedrooms, a small lounge, a small library, a small—but pretty—bathroom, and a pantry. I think that the girls were in awe of these new arrangements, even contented with them. ("We get our own bedrooms?" Bubbles gushed.) But their cold attitudes returned, and they stopped speaking to us.

"I think you're more hot-tempered than you want us to think," Butch pointed out to Buttercup as he stared at the blood and glass in her hands. He, in a bold moment, grabbed her hand and examined the damage done.

"Don't press your luck," she told him curtly, pulling it out of his grasp.

"Believe me, I'd rather take my chances with that pampered prissy Princess," he said. His brothers laughed, and most of the Gangrene Gang joined in, but I think that Ace's laugh was rather forced.

"Oh, do you mean that, Butch?" We stiffened, realizing that the debutante was now in our company, and she had motivations of her own…motivations that were going against the plans of the Creature.

* * *

A/N: Princess's phone number is taken from a Nancy Drew computer game that I used to own. I think that it was Bess Marvin's. (I should dig up that old game; it was a lot of fun to play.) Now…please review! I'm starting to have everything come together quite nicely, and I don't want for Him to come after the people who don't leave comments! Who knows? He might prevent future updates! ;)


	9. Chapter 9

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Chapter Eight

"What's she doing here?" Snake demanded of Ace. "She's not supposed to be here!"

"You can ask me directly, you know," Princess said primly. "I've my reasons."

"What are you doing here?" Snake repeated with a small smirk. "You're not supposed to be here! There, is that better?"

"I heard you fine the first time," she curtly replied, and she didn't flinch when Ace socked him roughly in the shoulder. "Now, I only wanted to voice my concerns about a few things in our plan. I want everyone's opinion on them. So, if you'll excuse us, Powerpuff—how are you three, by the way?"

"Why do you care?" Buttercup asked harshly through clenched teeth. She winced as Bubbles flicked a small glass shard out of her skin.

Princess looked like she was at a loss for words. She stared at each Powerpuff thoughtfully as she contemplated her words carefully. "I don't know," she said at last. "I don't know. I think I always have a little—"

"That's why you turned people against us, used your powers for ruthless reasons, and formed alliances with people in the hopes that we would be destroyed," Blossom said accusingly.

And Bubbles coughed something that sounded like, "Rowdyruff!" Princess sighed in frustration.

"Besides," Blossom added, wincing as blood began to slowly ebb from Buttercup's cuts again. "You all are still evil enough to work for Him. You don't care much about anything except for mayhem and misery, do you?"

"Is that what you think?" Princess asked in a shrill whisper, and my heart stopped when I noticed that tears were filling up in her dark eyes. "Do you think that just because I am—used to be—evil that I cannot feel compassion or show kindness? Do you three think that you're the only ones capable of feeling anything pure? Well, I have a father too, you know. And I need for him to be safe…just like you need the Professor to be kept out of harm's way." She sniffled. "I'm not here on my own accord, and I'm not…I'm not like I was before, although I think…our worst nightmare seems to think I haven't changed. Those lessons in acting seem to be paying off okay."

"They could be better," Butch muttered wryly, and Princess smiled through the stream of tears. She became solemn again, and she looked at the girls intently.

"Say something," she ordered.

"I don't believe you," Blossom challenged softly, her eyes narrowed.

"How can we?" Bubbles asked.

"Look, I don't know what I can do or say to you to convince you that I'm not here on my own accord. But my Daddy didn't want for me to do this, but he told me to join this cause…because if I didn't, I'd be dead. And if I do, I'm better off, even if it is on thin ice." She bristled when Blossom rolled her eyes. "You know what? I'm sorry I wasted your time." She turned back to our "team". "Boys, follow me." She stormed out of the room we were in, and led us down the hall to what looked like another crude study or conservatory of some sort. She waited for us to enter before she closed the door. "Can any of you read?"

"A little," Ace said, and the rest of us nodded in agreement.

"Then I'll try to keep this as monosyllabic as possible…meaning I won't use big words…and I'll write in print, not cursive," she whispered. There was a desk in the room, and she wandered over to it, opening various drawers. She finally pulled out several sheets of notebook paper, as well as pens of various colors. Satisfied, she handed each of us a sheet and a pen before taking the pen in her hand and scribbling something down on a spare sheet. She held it up for everyone to see. "Can you read this?" it asked. Most of us nodded vigorously, but I translated the writing through blowing raspberries for the few members of the Gangrene Gang—Big Billy and Snake—that weren't avid readers. Princess smiled gratefully at me before she continued writing. After about three minutes, she held up a new message.

"I'm sorry that we have to do this, but I don't want for the girls to listen to us talking. Now, I wanted to share this with you. I think that there's something bigger than the plan the Nightmare has in store for us. I think that someone's watching over his progress…I think that down in the Underground, or whatever he likes to call it, there's something that told Him to hurry us along so that he can do what he wants us to do. He said that this is something bigger than taking over Townsville, and I want to find out what it is. Am I going too fast for you, or are you following me okay so far?"

Most of us nodded, but I turned to my sheet of paper, filling in the blanks between the lines. I felt everyone watching me as I lifted up my own paper. "What do you propose we do?" It read.

She smiled once more before scribbling out her answer neatly. We all had mild smiles on our faces, too, but they faded once the meaning of the words sunk in. "I know that we aren't going to find out much of anything by doing the Nightmare's evil bidding. I think what convinced me of the bigger reasons of this plan was his fit tonight. So here's what I propose: tomorrow I have to run a few errands for Mojo Jojo. On the way there, I'm going to visit Fuzzy. He may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he may have the answers we're looking for."

"Are you crazy?" Butch wrote, poking holes in the paper from pressing the pen too hard against the surface.

I elaborated a little on that, writing, "How are we going to get out of the arcade? There's no way we'll be allowed off of guard duty that easily!"

She tapped the pen against her bottom lip thoughtfully before printing, "I'll take either the Gangrene Gang or the Rowdyruff Boys with me. The rest of the team will have to stay behind."

"Riffraff," Boomer corrected on his own paper. Princess rolled her eyes.

"I think I'll take you three with me. You can use the excuse that you were out on day patrol, keeping the skies clear of any weird planes or whatever." The boys nodded enthusiastically.

"Give me the papers," Princess suddenly ordered in her regular speaking voice. We complied, and she ripped the sheets up until they didn't resemble much except for confetti. Satisfied, she sprinkled each little particle into the trash can that rested under the desk. "We can't take any chances," she whispered anxiously before opening the door to the study. She walked down the hall towards the exit, but she paused in front of the room that we had left the Powerpuff Girls in.

"By the way," I heard her saying in a stage whisper, "I hope that you remember that I wanted to be a Powerpuff. I never wanted to be your enemy." And with that, she walked to the exit. She stood there impatiently for a long while before someone remembered to unlock it for her.

Shortly after she left, there was another argument over night patrol. In the end, it went to Brick and Snake. "Punch him if he says or does anything stupid," Ace advised the Rowdyruff. We left then, and we were so silent and thoughtful that we could hear the key turning in the lock.

* * *

We didn't speak until we arrived back at the dump. And then Big Billy fell into a fit of hysterics again. "It's the zombies!" He wailed again, and Ace sighed, giving up on the attempts to convince him that there was no such thing as zombies.

Little Arturo, on the other hand, hadn't. "I don't think zombies exist anymore," he said gently.

"So what do you think this is about?" Ace asked.

"I don't know," Artie shrugged. "No se, mi amigo."

"Will you stop speaking Spanish?" Ace snapped.

"I can't help it!" Artie replied. "I can't help it! I'm nervous! I always speak Spanish when I'm nervous!"

"What's there to be nervous about?"

"I don't know!"

"Then stop being nervous!"

"Stop fighting!" Big Billy wailed, and I blew a raspberry harshly.

"Grubber's right," Ace said, relaxing a little. "Let's save it for Snake. I will punch him in the face if he blows our cover...or something."

"Or something," we repeated after him, settling down for the night.

Yeah, I thought, my eyes closing, or something…

* * *

**A/N: Phew! My brother has been pressuring me to write this chapter all morning. I told him that I am going to kill someone in the story, and he gasped and said, "Oh no, not (spoilers)!" I rolled my eyes and said, "No, not (spoilers)." But I do know who it is…and I do know that there are a few surprises coming up in the next chapter. Review, please!**


	10. Chapter 10

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Chapter Nine

Princess had been waiting for Butch and Boomer for about an hour, or she had at least arrived an hour earlier than the rest of us. This was what the sleep-deprived Snake whispered to us as we were scolded by the young heiress for being lazy. She grew tired of that after ten minutes, and she turned to Brick. "Where are your brothers? Why aren't they here? What's taking them so long?"

"Chill out," he yawned. "Boomer probably slept late again or something."

"We have to get a move on NOW," she whined. This was before she was nearly knocked over by two streaks—one green, the other blue.

"It was his fault, not mine," Boomer insisted when he came to a halt, and I noticed that he was clutching a small paper bag.

"My fault," his brother echoed. "How can it be MY fault when YOU were the one who wanted to get donuts?"

"You were the one who wanted to fly through the drive-thru, even though it had that long line of cars!"

"Oh yeah, well—"

"Shut up!" Brick snapped, and I was disappointed to see another entertaining spat cut short. "It doesn't matter who wanted donuts or how you got them."

"Thank you," Princess said nastily.

"What matters is…what kind of donut you saved me," Brick finished, snatching the bag away from his brother. He tore it open and stuffed a chocolate one in his mouth. Princess groaned and tapped her foot impatiently.

"Come on," she urged again. "I don't have all day! Jojo is expecting me back at the—"

"Princess, you've got to take a chill pill," Butch said. His brothers nodded, and Brick tried to say something around a mouthful of pastry. She wrinkled her nose, disgusted.

"Did you want one?" Boomer offered, holding up the last donut—a chocolate one with sprinkles. She flinched.

"Number one: I don't eat anything fattening," she said primly. "Number two: the chef at MY place cooked me a much tastier breakfast."

"Whatever," Brick said, examining the bag, hoping for another donut. He found that there were none left, and he sighed in disappointment before turning back to Princess. "We're ready when you are."

"Finally," she said huffily. She addressed Ace again. "I hope that this won't take too long. We'll try to be back before lunch. I'll swing by a pizzeria," she offered, but her smile was somewhat forced. She was most likely calculating the number of calories in the greasy pie. But Ace perked up.

"Sounds good," he told her. "Thank you."

"You're…welcome," she said tentatively, as if trying out those words for the first time. It occurred to me that she was not used to doing a person favors…most people gave her whatever she wanted, no questions asked. But I digress.

The Rowdyruff Riffraff followed her out a few moments later. We locked ourselves in, and then realized that we didn't know where the girls were in this labyrinth of new, spacious rooms. "Let's split up," Ace suggested. We nodded and walked in different directions. Snake went off with Artie, Big Billy went off by himself, and I went with Ace.

He didn't know where we were going, but he led the way. We found one of the girls—Buttercup—in one of the bedrooms. The color scheme was green—green carpet, green couch, green bed, green walls, green lamps—and it was very neat, but perhaps a bit too much. She was standing in front of a giant green wardrobe, and she held one hand to her lip thoughtfully as her eyes darted over the contents.

"Haven't they heard of casual clothing?" She asked herself exasperatedly. I winced. She was speaking Fashion, the universal girl language. I barely spoke my mind, let alone Fashion! Ace had just as much understanding as I did of Fashion, but he sighed as he tried to think of something to say.

Buttercup heard, and she turned around, her eyes narrowing at us. "What do you two want?"

Ace shrugged. "Hello," he said awkwardly.

"Goodbye," Buttercup said with false sweetness, pointing to the door.

"Come on," Ace said, walking over to the couch. "Is that all you want to say?" He sat down and lowered his sunglasses a little, watching her intently.

"Hmm…yeah, I think so," she told him after pretending to consider his question. "I didn't have much to say to you when I did hang around you guys, and I have nothing that I want to say to you now."

"Are you sure?" I saw Buttercup make a fist, and the cuts in her hands began to bleed again. "That looks pretty nasty," he observed.

"Not as nasty as your skin," she mumbled, shaking a few drops of blood onto the carpet. "Did you go swimming in a pool of puke, or is that really the color?"

"Great comeback," he said sarcastically. He stood up from the couch and walked over to her.

"What are you doing?" She asked angrily when he reached out for her hand. She pushed him away lightly, and I knew that things could get rough even without her superpowers.

"I just want to look at it," he said defensively. "It needs a bandage or something."

"Like you're the best doctor here," she said. "I won't let you treat any wounds with your…condition."

"Get over it," Ace snapped, folding his arms. She did the same, and they engaged in a harsh, intense staring contest. "If the gangrene was that bad, we'd be dead by now."

"You're lucky that I didn't kill you after you tried to murder my sisters," she shot back, her glare getting colder.

"You're lucky that I didn't try to kill you," he said, and her eyebrows shot up. I think that she was even more impressed with this argument than I was.

"Didn't try to, or didn't want to?" She suddenly asked.

"I suppose a little bit of both," he answered truthfully. Ace had thought that with at least one Powerpuff girl on our team, we would have been able to control Townsville. This probably wasn't one of the best plans, but it didn't even get executed properly. Our cover was blown pretty early by Buttercup.

"Was it because you enjoyed having me around, or because you only needed me for the plan?" Her forehead wrinkled in concentration, like she was trying to maintain the intensity of her stare.

"We needed you," Ace said simply.

Buttercup smiled. "That's what I thought," she said wryly, but there was a small shine of satisfaction in her eyes. "I won't make your life miserable while I'm here," she continued, "because you know how I felt."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ace asked, but I wasn't paying too much attention to the conversation anymore. I was starting at Buttercup's injured hand.

_It was changing_.

The last shards of the glass were breaking off without assistance, and the small cuts seemed to be shrinking and fading into small, red scars. It was barely noticeable, and I only managed to catch it. I closed my eyes and shook my head. I told myself to get a grip.

"You used me," Buttercup stated simply, not paying any attention to her hand—Ace's concern for her wound seemed to have vanished—as she spoke. "You used me, and Sedusa used your gang." She smiled suddenly, her eyes flashing with amusement. "How ironic is that? She wanted to use you guys to seek revenge on me and my sisters, but by using you, she kind of avenged me!" She giggled a little. "Oh, I need to share this with Blossom later."

"It's completely different!" Ace insisted.

"How is it different? Why was it different?"

"Because we thought we were going to get…something out of the deal we made with Sedusa," Ace explained flatly.

And Buttercup used his weak defense to her advantage. "Yes," she said with false sympathy, "you thought that you'd get a little sugar from the bald-headed temptress who has origins that are from one of the silliest villains of Greek mythology! Isn't that sweet?"

"Hey!" Ace protested. "Most of her hair has grown back by now!" This only made Buttercup laugh harder, and she stopped only to wipe a few tears from her eyes. And I had to bite down hard on my lip to contain my laughs, but my shoulders were shaking too much from the pressure. I stopped laughing when Ace asked, "What did you think you were going to gain from an alliance with us?"

"Perception," Buttercup answered immediately. This noble answer seemed like something of a fib, and Ace seemed to think so, too.

"What's the real reason?" He demanded, and she sighed, defeated.

"I honestly didn't know at the time," she told him. "I honestly didn't know. I thought you guys were funny and cool, and my sisters weren't like that at all. I know better now, and I won't make any stupid mistakes in the future." She looked a little wistful as she talked, but she lashed out at Ace again, saying, "I had thought that your gang wouldn't make any stupid decisions after trying to team up with Sedusa, but clearly, I was wrong. You're still defending her!"

"Maybe I've forgiven her," Ace said defiantly. "And I see that you don't know anything about forgiveness!"

Buttercup stepped back, stunned at this statement. "My sisters and I forgive those who have redeemed themselves," she said sternly. "The people who are holding us here have not earned redemption."

"Still, you're holding quite a grudge," Ace said gently. "Would it hurt to let it go?"

Buttercup considered this carefully. "Yes," she said after a while. "It would. If you hadn't brought my sisters into it, maybe I'd forgive you. But no, I can't."

"Would saying sorry help?" Ace offered half-heartedly.

"No," she said firmly, and she walked away from him. She sat down on the edge of the bed, glaring at the carpet.

"If it's any consolation, I won't do it again," he said. He walked over to the bed and he stood in front of it, his arms crossed a little. Buttercup cracked a smile in spite of herself, and she giggled.

"Yes, you won't," she said in a voice barely above a whisper. "Because we wouldn't want for you to break your nose again, would we?"

"That was quite a punch," he complimented her, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He pushed his glasses back up, hiding his eyes again.

"Sorry," she said in a voice that seemed a little empathetic. "I didn't know my own strength. I do now, now that I don't have my powers," she added bitterly.

"That wasn't my idea," Ace said, and he looked a little guilty—only a little.

"I know it wasn't," she told him. "But when I do get my powers back…" She stood up and threw a few practice punches. Her injured fist stopped a few inches in front of Ace's nose, and he winced. But I was shocked when he pointed out that her injuries were gone. "I'm a fast healer," she insisted. "That's why we kept doing the crime-fighting and stuff. If we were the kind of girls that would run home crying after getting a little mud on our dresses, we would have stopped defending the city of Townsville a long time ago."

"Yeah," Ace said, and there was a small moment of silence. It wasn't bitter or awkward. In fact, it seemed almost peaceful. And I contemplated putting this conversation into the report for Him. I considered leaving and going to look for the other girls...

And I did. I left Ace and Buttercup and went out into the corridor. And it was in that moment that I heard a fierce knocking on the door. Everyone—the Powerpuff Girls and the rest of the Gangrene Gang—went to see who it was. Ace unlocked the door, and Princess came stumbling in with Brick, Butch, and Boomer. Butch, I noticed, was carrying two boxes of pizza, and I realized that it was already 11:53 in the morning. I had lost track of the time.

"How did it go?" Snake asked as he took the boxes from Butch. The four teenagers didn't answer. They wandered through the corridor, peering into several rooms until they found a tiny lounge. The rest of us followed them in, and Snake repeated the question. Princess answered him.

"Fuzzy's dead."

* * *

**A/N: Ooh, I love the smell of suspense in the morning! By the way, this is going to have some Buttercup/Ace in it. If you'd like to see any other pairings, please let me know in a review. (By the way, REALLY guys? This story has had at least eighty visitors! All of you...write SOMETHING! Please?)**


	11. Chapter 11

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Chapter Ten

The words didn't sink in for what seemed like hours, and when they did, nobody believed it. "Fuzzy Lumpkins…he's dead," Snake said flatly. Princess confirmed this without making any snide remarks. She only nodded. I noticed that her cheeks were damp and red. She had been crying for a while.

"How did he die?" Buttercup demanded. Her eyes were closed tightly, and she was shaking her head slightly, as if denying everything.

"Shot," Princess croaked out. Her voice was very hoarse. "Shot by his own gun…"

The girls stared at each other silently, and Bubbles began to weep a little. Big Billy was already bawling his head off.

"His dying words were, 'Git offa my proper-tay!'" Brick said in a transparent attempt to get rid of the tension. Little Arturo glared at the Rowdyruff.

"That's not funny," Blossom snapped as the tears began to start up again with Princess. "That's not funny at all." Brick had forced a smile onto his face while making the joke, and it faded now. He stared at his shoes, ashamed.

"Who would have killed Fuzzy?" Ace wondered. "Why would a person…murder Fuzzy?"

The mention of the word "murder" placed everyone on edge. No one had really wanted to stoop as low as to commit murder in the city of Townsville. Sure, villains had made attempts to get rid of the Powerpuff Girls…but none of those attempts seemed genuine. We all knew the girls had been invincible, and I suspected that Ace had his own doubts when he tried to get rid of Bubbles and Blossom. And then there was Mojo Jojo, who put a clever twist on his attempts by trying to make the girls attack each other. (Even though that plan had ended in failure, it was one of his closest attempts to succeeding.) Murderers were given the death sentence in Townsville, and so the number of murder victims was almost nonexistent.

And the murder of an infamous criminal—a rival of the Powerpuff Girls—was unheard of. So as we sat and contemplated Princess's words, I became vaguely aware that history had been made…

"We should bury him," Boomer suggested, much to the surprise of everyone present. "We should have a grave for him on his property. That's what he would have wanted, I think…"

Nobody argued with this, not even the Powerpuff Girls. I wondered how they felt about this death. I felt a little twinge of admiration for them because in spite of their current situation, they still felt sympathy for others.

"This is our fault," Blossom said quietly. "We should have been there to protect him."

"No, it isn't," Brick said, glowering some more at his feet. "We should have gotten there faster."

"If we were free, you boys wouldn't have to play the heroes," Buttercup scowled.

"We're not playing the heroes," Butch argued.

"Yeah, right," Buttercup mumbled, but no one was listening. Princess had pulled out her phone.

"Mojo, is that you? Um…I'm probably going to be a little behind schedule…no, nothing's wrong…okay, you're right…I'll tell you later…" She hung up, and then dialed a different number. "Samuel? I need for you to do me a favor. I'm going to send you an address…go there and dig a grave for the body that's inside. No! No, I didn't kill anyone…no! Look…I didn't do it. I don't kill. And I don't use guns like the one that left those wounds. It's too pedestrian. And don't use a truck from Daddy's company…I don't know, take the Pontiac. And don't touch ANYTHING inside of the house except for the body. Okay? And try not to make it a huge, fancy grave, either. Yes, a tombstone…I don't know. His name was Fuzzy Lumpkins. What? Oh. F-U-Z-Z-Y, not I-E…got it? I'll send you something to put on the tombstone…talk to you then. Goodbye." She put the phone away, and she wiped her nose on her sleeve. "I think that there should be something nice written for him on his tombstone. But I don't know what to write."

"How about 'Here lies Fuzzy Lumpkins, the Uncle of Three'?" Bubbles suggested. This received a few enthusiastic nods, and Princess shrugged.

"I guess that's the best we can do," she muttered tapping on a few buttons on her phone. "And it's the nicest we can do for his epitaph." She sighed. "I hate it when people I know die. I think of my own mortality. And that's upsetting."

"Everyone lives. Everyone dies," Blossom said simply. "People die every day."

Bubbles began shaking suddenly. "Are we going to die?" She asked in a high-pitched squeak.

"Not while you're here," Ace said firmly.

"Is that so?" Buttercup sneered, but she patted her sister's shoulder comfortingly, and even she looked a little worried.

"They're not going to die," Princess said suddenly. She stood tall, her eyes flashing. She looked like a real princess. "I won't allow it."

"You don't have that much power, Princess," Butch told her, but even he looked more than a little concerned.

I was praying for someone to change the subject before an argument broke out—as much as I enjoyed them, a quarrel was the last thing we needed at a time like this. And Ace repeated his question. "Who would want to kill Fuzzy?"

"Him," Princess said immediately. "I think it was Him."

"Me, too," Butch agreed. "Didn't he say that Fuzzy went into 'an early retirement' or something like that? Or that he wouldn't be making any headlines?" His brothers nodded, and I recalled the vague answer the Monster had given us when we asked why Fuzzy had not been invited to the MCA Arcade.

"But for what purpose?" Ace asked. "We probably know who did it, but not why…"

"I think Fuzzy didn't want to do this," Princess whispered hoarsely. "He didn't want to do this, and he wasn't going to contribute that much, so it was Him that stepped in and taught him a lesson."

Ace and Buttercup swore silently. Blossom broke down, and Little Arturo began whispering in Spanish to himself, trying to calm down.

"I don't know if that's really it," Butch said, staring at the debutante accusingly. "You keep saying that you don't want to do this, and you're still here, and you haven't gotten any form of punishment from Him."

Two tears ran down her face, and she didn't try to wipe them away. "Is that what you think?" She asked. "Do you think that Daddy and I are perfectly peachy with this? Daddy just got back from the hospital!" My mouth fell open, and the other girls gasped. "And I know it was Him because…I saw Him talking to Daddy about this! And Daddy told me to do whatever that…fiend…asked us to do with the money!" She was sobbing. "I'm scared half to death." She glared again, and her regal, composed demeanor was back. "Don't judge me!" She stormed out. I heard the hall door slam, and I realized that we had forgotten to lock it when she had returned with the Rowdyruff Riffraff.

Nobody ran after her. "No offense to her," Blossom said softly, "but I'm not hungry for pizza."

"I'm not hungry at all," Buttercup added.

The three boys walked over to one box. They each took a bite out of a slice. They swallowed it with an effort, but they both ran out, claiming that they were going to be sick. I felt sick, too. I had a queasy feeling in my gut, and it stayed there for the rest of the afternoon…

* * *

Princess had washed her face and applied a fresh layer of new makeup before she showed up to the meeting at the Arcade. Mojo looked grimmer than he usually did, and I knew that she had told him everything. The only ones who didn't seem affected by this were Him, of course…as well as the Amoeba Boys and Sedusa.

"When we shoot someone, do we point the barrel of the gun towards us, or towards the person we're going to shoot?" One of them asked.

She looked unbelievably grouchy, and something snapped. "I don't care! Either one would make me happy!" She screamed, massaging her temples.

The talk of guns didn't make the twisted feeling in my stomach any better, but I don't think that it bothered Him too much. He orchestrated the meeting again, making amiable small talk with us—although we really didn't want to talk with him.

"Mojo, here are the plans for the experiments I wanted for you to conduct on the Amoeba Boys. Although we're not quite ready for them to begin, I still want for you to take a look at them." Mojo didn't answer Him. He just grunted a little, and the Creature seemed satisfied with this answer. "Excellent. Now…" He leaned forward, glaring a little at each of us. "Some of you have been keeping secrets…"

I gulped audibly, hoping that our cover hadn't been blown already…

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry for those of you who found the gun joke funny. It was my brother's idea. (He also came up with the dying words of Fuzzy.) **


	12. Chapter 12

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Chapter Eleven

"I think that this is all very ironic!" The Monster gushed. "A person from one team has been spying on another team!"

The members of the Gangrene Gang tried to look as casual as they could under the sudden tension.

Mojo Jojo slouched over in his seat.

Sedusa pulled at the ends of her hair as she stared at Princess anxiously.

The Amoeba Boys stared at Sedusa…it took them a while to realize that she wasn't the culprit, and it took them an even longer amount of time to find out who the culprit was.

And Princess cleared her throat before answering Him. "I haven't done anything wrong," she said with convincing innocence. She _was_ turning out to be a pretty decent actress.

"I know you haven't," the Creature cooed. "I know that there aren't any spies…we cannot afford to have any ruining stage three…not at a time like this…"

"And why is that, I wonder?" Princess inquired with a voice that was more polite than friendly.

The Monster ignored her. "So what were you doing with the Gangrene Gang and the Rowdyruff Boys?" The boys were too afraid to correct Him, and nobody else wanted to speak.

Princess shrugged. "I just wanted to drop off some pizza for them," she replied sweetly. "They don't have time to grab any food during the day, except for those dreadful snacks stashed up there for the girls." She turned to them. "How was it?"

"Great," Butch lied through a forced smile. "I only wish that there was more."

"And I assume that you have plenty of food to eat, or at least some three-course meal?" Princess asked Sedusa.

"Yes," the older woman answered, still fidgeting with the ends of her hair.

"Nothing's wrong, then?" Princess asked sweetly.

"There's nothing you can do to fix these three," Sedusa complained, pointing at the Amoeba Boys. They didn't say anything in their defense, but Princess nodded sympathetically.

I don't think that Him saw anything really suspicious about what Princess was doing—and most of it, I have to admit, was due to her impressive acting—and the meeting ended not long afterwards. She walked with our "team" back upstairs.

"Do you want Him to start putting two and two together?" Brick asked her as we unlocked the door.

"No," she hissed, "I don't. But I am still going to visit you guys, and Jojo may drop in every so often. I can cover for Mojo, but I don't know what I'm going to have to say to keep my cover."

"You could stop coming up here, just to be on the safe side," Snake snickered. Ace punched him in the face.

"If you can't say anything helpful, then shut up!" He said. Snake glared at him, and Princess rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I'll think of something on my own," she muttered to herself. She stormed to the exit. "You might want to look into something called 'improvising'," she called out. "It might be helpful at the next meeting." The door slammed behind her, and Ace locked it.

"Keep it down," Blossom yelled from down the corridor. "I'm trying to read." We split up again—the same teams as yesterday—and I did contemplate not going with Ace. I wasn't sure how another meeting with Buttercup was going to go.

We found her in her bedroom again. She was lying down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, popping a piece of gum, and snapping her "fingers" to some random beat. I stared at her hand, noticing that she _did_ have fingers, but barely noticeable ones. The celadon nail polish helped bring them out a little.

"I still can't believe Fuzzy died," she said flatly, staring up at the ceiling. I shuffled my feet awkwardly, and Ace did the same. We stared at her in surprise when she suddenly burst out laughing. "I just remembered the time that you tricked the Mayor out of his office. And you broke in and made all those prank calls to our house…and you made us attack Mojo Jojo and Him…and Fuzzy!" She laughed even harder. "He was so mad! You should have seen his face!" She clutched her sides, giggling hysterically. "A-and we thought that it w-was the Mayor the…whole time!" She had to gasp in order to breathe, and tears were running down her face.

"I think she's calming down," Ace whispered to me when she rolled off the bed. She sat back up and sniffled a little, wiping the tears away.

"And we found out that it was really you…it was all over the papers," she said quietly. "And that was the only time I think I felt sorry for Fuzzy…"

"He was always good for a laugh," Ace shrugged, and I nodded in agreement.

Buttercup cracked a small smile. "Yeah, I guess I'm going to miss him a little," she admitted, twirling one perfect black curl around her finger. It actually didn't look that small, and I was surprised that I hadn't noticed it after all. Or maybe she had always had fingers, and I had forgotten some things about the appearances of the Powerpuff Girls over the course of eight years. That was possible.

"Will you miss me a little if I die?" Ace joked.

Buttercup glared at him. "What kind of a question is that?"

"A serious one," Ace replied.

"Well, you're not planning on dying today, are you?"

"I think you're trying to change the subject."

"No, no I'm not! We're still on the subject! And while we're on it, let's talk about the potential causes of death, shall we? The gangrene—"

I took this as my cue to go, and I left the two arguing. I wandered around the corridor, looking for something to do. I found Blossom sitting in her room, surrounded by a few books and all three Rowdyruff Boys, as well as Big Billy. They weren't talking, but they watched her read.

"This is boring!" Brick cried out, causing his brothers to jump a little, but Blossom didn't look up from her book. "What are you even reading?"

"Hans Christian Andersen," she replied at once. "He's brilliant! I love his work!"

"Then why don't you marry it?" Brick teased lightly, causing everyone to groan.

"First of all, I said that I loved his work, not him as a person," she replied, turning a page. "Second of all, if you're really going to insult me, then you are going to have to try to do better than that. And you might want to watch out, while you're at it, because I might give you cooties."

"We don't believe in cooties," Boomer replied.

"You used to," Blossom reminded him.

I wandered away. I don't think that they even knew I was peeking in at the conversation. I found Snake and Little Arturo with Bubbles in the lounge. She managed to look almost as elegant as Princess as she sipped what looked like apricot juice, but Snake and Artie looked very out of place.

"Doesn't it hurt when Ace punches you?" She asked Snake.

"Not really," he replied honestly. "It helps when your skin is pretty much dead."

"I thought that the skin gets weaker when it dies," she said.

"And I thought that you were supposed to be the dumb one," he shot back.

She didn't flinch. "People were very fond of calling me dumb," she said, daintily swirling the liquid around in the glass. "But I don't think that's quite true. I was very innocent and very naïve. And I was delicate…but not so much anymore." She chugged the rest of her drink and belched a little. "Pardon me," she said primly. There was a small sink in here, over where there was the stash of fruit juices. She rinsed out her glass, and before I wandered away, I heard her speak again. "I won't hesitate to strike any of you down in battle if I get the chance. I want for you to know that."

And even though this came from the kindest of the girls, I still shuddered.

* * *

**A/N: And, just to recap: everyone is pretty much on thin ice at the moment. It might get dangerous if the girls try to escape again. (Oh dear, I shouldn't have said that! I am not the best with spoilers, am I?) Write a review and tell me about your favorite Fuzzy Lumpkin moments! (I may put in a little funeral for him if I get enough material.) REVIEW!**


	13. Chapter 13

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Chapter Twelve

The Rowdyruff Riffraff didn't looked like they had seen better days when the time came for the usual night shift squabble. I didn't blame them—none of us had had a bite to eat all day, and the death of Fuzzy was starting to put us in a state of shock in horror. But Ace managed to stay composed. "Look into that 'improvising' thing Princess told us about," he said. "I'm staying here." I decided, against my naturally lazy instincts, to stay up. I didn't feel hungry or empty—I was too depressed to feel much of anything.

And I suspected that there was something else troubling Ace, and I blew a raspberry, inquiring him about it. "Fuzzy is dead," he said flatly. "Of course I'm upset." I expressed doubts about this, and I mockingly wondered if it had to do with a sassy Powerpuff with green eyes.

"Lay off," he snapped. "There's nothing the matter with me." I didn't quite believe him, and I lightly asked about how the last argument with her went—the one about would she miss him if he died, and so on and so on. "It went fine," he said sharply. I burst out into "laughter"—even my laughs seemed to consist of raspberries—and Ace glared at me. "She's sixteen—technically fifteen—and I'm twenty, and I don't quite know what you're implying."

I was still ignoring his dark warnings, and I brought up the alliance we had with Buttercup in the past. "That was different," Ace muttered. He put his hands in his pocket, and we went to look for the girls. "We were just kids." I didn't say anything else.

We walked past Buttercup's room again, where she was going through clothes again—I managed to understand some more of the universal girl language this time. "I thought that he was big on black, red, and pink," she said, frustrated, "but there aren't any clothes in here like that."

"Is there a sudden need for black?" Ace asked as we walked in. She turned to face him, and she arched one eyebrow. Ace sighed. "Are we going to start fighting again?"

"No," she said, kicking the ground. She turned back to the wardrobe. "I've never been to any funerals before, and seeing how…Fuzzy can't really have one…one that we can attend…my sisters and I thought that we should start wearing black." She pulled out something black—a dark T-shirt—and she tossed it onto the bed, crinkling her nose a little. "Blossom was looking into something called 'the three stages of mourning' or something. Widows used to do it when their husbands died. They wore black for a year, purple for a year, and then gray and lavender for six months. We don't have anything black."

We didn't know what to say, but thankfully her sisters did. They popped in a few seconds later. I was vaguely reminded of something the Creature had told us to do: to keep the girls isolated. But I decided that even though we couldn't directly confront Him about Fuzzy, we could still do small things to spite Him. And this…was one of them. While I didn't want for stage three to drag out for a long period of time, I didn't want for Him to see too much satisfaction from this little "project" of his.

"I found black skirts!" Bubbles called out half-heartedly, brandishing a few of them around.

"Let me see," Buttercup said, snatching one of them away. And it took her only a minute to grab the skirt, but I know what I saw.

_Bubbles had no fingers_. My eyes darted to Blossom. She didn't have any fingers, either. And now I stared at Buttercup, who was holding the article of clothing daintily in front of her face, wrinkling her nose a little. Her fingers looked like Princess's—they weren't stubby or barely noticeable. _She had fingers_.

"We'll be right back," Blossom said suddenly, dashing out of the room with Bubbles. I decided to study the sisters—maybe I was going mad from the lack of sleep, lack of food, or depression…or some insane combination of the three.

The girls didn't head into any room in particular. They stood in the hall, and Blossom whispered something to her sister. Bubbles looked appalled, but she nodded her head once or twice. She hugged her sister once…

And then they dashed towards the exit. My thoughts immediately became blank of everything except for one word: "What?"

I got my answer to that question when I saw Blossom play around with the lock, and I raced back to Ace. I blew a raspberry urgently, and we sprinted out into the corridor. Bubbles heard us coming, and she turned to her sister, who was desperately fiddling with the lock.

And the door unlocked. The girls would have made it down the stairs if Ace and I had moved slower. But we grabbed them, and the door swung open almost gracefully…the girls had the door open for them, but we held them back. "No!" Blossom cried out, squirming. Ace was holding her hands behind her back, and he kicked the door closed.

Buttercup came out of her room to see where we had gone. She took one look at us, scowled, and ran back inside her room. We entered with her sisters, and they sat down beside Buttercup, mirroring her scowl.

Nobody said anything, and I left to go lock the door. I did figure out what they used to try and escape: it was a hair pin. It probably fell out of Princess's hair during one of her visits…I made sure that the door was securely locked before going back to Buttercup's room.

"Say something," Ace urged.

Buttercup smirked. "How'd the escape attempt go?" She asked. She then frowned, staring at the carpet. "And why didn't you tell me about it?"

"It was just like yours," Bubbles admitted. "It was improvised. I was going to stay here, and Blossom was going to go look for help."

An idea occurred to me. If I could learn the secret of improvisation, then I could probably try to understand the thought process behind these escape attempts. This thought vanished quickly when Blossom asked, "Are you going to tell Him about this?"

"Are you going to escape again?" Ace asked, and then his eyes darted to Buttercup's hand. "And…are those fingers?"

"Buttercup, how could you?" Blossom hissed, lightly punching her sister's arm. Bubbles shot her a scared glare.

"I didn't mean to," Buttercup muttered, examining the fingers with fascination. She wiggled them a little, and she admired the manicure.

"So you have fingers now," Ace stated. "Congrats. That's great. Now…would someone explain to me HOW that is POSSIBLE?"

"Not so loud," Blossom hissed.

"Sorry," Ace said, lowering his voice a little.

The girls exchanged glances, and they whispered to each other for a few moments. Ace and I did the same. "Did you notice them?" He asked, referring to Buttercup's new fingers.

I blew a raspberry sheepishly, as if to say that I thought I was going crazy. And that was the truth.

The girls stopped whispering. Blossom was the first to speak. "Quid pro quo, Ace and Grubber: one thing for another. You asked us two questions. We'll answer the questions, but we want two questions of ours answered." We nodded, bracing for the worst.

"First…are you going to tell Him about the escape attempt?" Bubbles asked nervously.

"And two…are you going to tell Him about what we are going to tell you?" Buttercup concluding, flexing out some muscles in her hand.

"Let's talk," Ace suggested, sitting down on the floor. I felt silly standing up, and I joined him.

We have never been the smartest people, but we felt like we understood the meaning of one certain phrase. "Their lives were in our hands…."

* * *

**A/N: If I get ten reviews, I'll start uploading two chapters every day! (That'll make my brother happy.) What do you think is up with Buttercup? And how do you think the rest of the Gangrene Gang will react to this? What about the Rowdyruff Riffraff? (And I still need people's opinion on romantic pairings.)**


	14. Chapter 14

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Chapter Thirteen

Buttercup sighed. "Let's just tell them what happened," she said to her sisters. After a few moments of consideration, they nodded with little reluctance.

"We each have our own special ability," Bubbles began. "I can speak different languages and talk to animals. Blossom can blow ice breath. But for a while, we thought that Buttercup didn't have a special ability. We later found out that she is the only person in the city of Townsville that can curl her tongue."

"Could," she corrected mournfully, sticking out her tongue. She rolled it around a little, but she couldn't curl it. I tried to curl my tongue, but…I just couldn't get the hang of it.

"A few weeks ago, we discovered that Buttercup did have another unique skill," Blossom continued. "She…can do a little bit of shape-shifting…wasn't that what the Professor called it?" Her sisters nodded. "We didn't want for her to play around with it a lot…but she's been doing accidental shape-shifting around the house."

"Accidental," Buttercup echoed. "Like I'll wake up one morning and my hair will be orange…or I'll grow fingers," she said, closing her eyes and furrowing her brow. As we watched in amazement, the fingers retracted back into her hand, and before long, it looked as if she had never had any fingers. "But I can do useful things with my power, apparently," Buttercup added. "I'm a quicker healer than I was before."

I was putting two and two together. If the Creature hadn't known about a certain Powerpuff Girl power, then he couldn't have taken it away. I knew, in that moment, that the Monster was truly evil—a perfect kind of evil that took every tiny detail into account—but it was also sadistic. And sadism is never truly acceptable, except on rare occasion.

There was a part of me that wanted to apologize, but I never got a chance to, because Blossom spoke again. "And we aren't going to escape again," she said carefully, "if we don't get another opportunity."

"But if opportunity comes around…" Ace's voice trailed off.

"Then we're going to run for it," Bubbles finished.

"But we're fresh out of ideas, so you don't need to worry your pretty little head about it," Buttercup hastily added, a small smirk dawning on her face. I sighed, hoping that that was the truth.

"Are you going to tell Him that we tried to escape tonight?" Blossom asked anxiously, drumming her palms on the floor, like I would have done with fingers.

"No," Ace admitted, and the girls breathed a small sigh of relief.

"What about my power? Are you going to tell Him about that?" Buttercup asked.

Ace didn't answer right away, and I knew that we were now on thin ice. If we didn't tell Him…if he found out that we had been keeping one too many important secrets…things could get ugly. But on the other hand…could we trust Him? Princess didn't, and I knew that while she herself wasn't the most trustworthy…she had a pretty accurate judge of character.

"I don't know," Ace answered. He tried to sound gentle, but his voice came out kind of wooden. "I don't know." The girls looked a bit panicked, and he added, "We are going to tell Princess, and the rest of the gang…and the RRRR." The girls wrinkled their tiny noses—I noticed that Buttercup had a more pronounced nose than the other two—as they mouthed to one another, "The RRRR?"

"They used to be the Rowdyruff Boys," Ace added, and the girls mouths formed the "oh!" of understanding…but they soon grew panicked. "We'll tell you our decision before we go talk with Him," he said, standing up. Blossom and Bubbles dashed out of Buttercup's room, and I heard two doors close in the distance. They were in their own rooms now, still freaking out and wondering if we were to be trusted.

And the green Powerpuff was wondering the same. "Are you going to tell them about our escape attempt?" She asked.

"Maybe," Ace shrugged. "But we will not tell Him. I swear on my dear late Aunt Sally's grave."

"How do I know you have a dear late Aunt Sally?" Buttercup asserted, her eyes narrowing. But the corners of her mouth twitched a little.

"I can't prove it to you," Ace said, exasperated. He threw his hands into the air. "What do you want from me?"

Buttercup giggled a little, but she stood up from the floor. Ace and I were standing in the doorway, getting ready to leave her alone. She walked over to us, and placed her hand on the door. She stared at Ace for a very long time.

"I'm going to trust you," she said at last. She started to close the door, but Ace stopped it with his foot. She stared at him, surprised.

"You think I have a 'pretty little head'?" He teased. Her frustrated groan was ruined by her amused smile.

"Goodnight, Ace," she chuckled, slamming the door. If Ace hadn't moved his foot, he would have probably broken a toe. He stared at the closed door for a moment before shaking his head with admiration.

"She has spunk!" He said with a tone of begrudging respect and…something else. I didn't like it…whatever it was, and I blew another raspberry to change the subject. "I don't trust Him," he told me, stuffing his hands into his pockets. We walked over to the makeshift pantry, searching for something to eat. "And I think that there shouldn't be any harm in keeping a few more secrets from Him." I did point out the cons against this. "We've seen worse than the likes of Him," he pointed out, but he failed to list any of them…with the exception of the Powerpuff Girls.

"Look, we'll talk it over with everyone else tomorrow…let's see what they think."

I nodded in agreement. We did eat the cereal—which was stale and old—in the lounge. We passed out in there, and I didn't dream at all.

And when I did, all I saw was a world that was a bright, shimmering red…and black. And I was hot…like I was on fire…and there was a terrible sound, like the earth was yawning beneath me, swallowing up screaming people.

I woke up sweating, shaking, and confused.

"We shouldn't do it," Princess said firmly, her decision made. "He killed Fuzzy. I know it. And I won't let Him do anything to the girls as long as they're here." She was wearing funeral attire—even some silly looking black veil thing made from lace.

"I don't know," Butch said. "They could use it to escape!"

"I thought of that," Ace said. "But I don't think that they'll be able to use it."

"Why?" Big Billy asked.

"First of all, if they are telling the truth, she can't use that power very well. She's learning how to use it."

"True," Boomer agreed. Brick, for lack of a reason, punched his brother in the arm. "What was that for?"

"Shut up," Brick muttered, listening to Ace speak.

"Second of all, we'll be expecting her to pull off something like that. And…" He exchanged a quick glance with me. "I don't think that they'll try to escape if they don't have a good opportunity."

"While we're on the subject, did any of you look into improvising?" Princess brought up. We all stared at her blankly, and she groaned. "Maybe there's a book around here on how to be a great actor in less than twelve hours," she said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes. She noticed, and she started scolding me. "If you want to end up in the hospital, like my father, do yourself a favor, and mess everything up tonight." She smiled, but her eyes were full of horror. "Just go ahead! Mess everything up! I'd be better off dead," she actually said to herself.

"What did you say about your father?" Snake asked slowly. I was ready to put two and two together again, but I didn't want to. Somehow…even with Princess, who was as delicate as a rhino…I didn't want for her to suffer.

"The Nightmare did this to Daddy," she explained softly. "He offered him an ultimatum: my contributions to the project, or…our deaths. He put…Daddy in the hospital…just to show what he could do to me." She shuddered, and some tears splashed onto her cheeks. "I am in SO much trouble here. And Fuzzy was in an even worse situation. The girls…we may not always see eye-to-eye with them…but the Professor shouldn't go through what Daddy went through!" She sniffled, but she stood up, her eyes glistening and wet. "The Professor returned my call…and I told him to get out of the city while he still could. I don't want for Him to attack anyone as a warning to the girls…and if we make things seem perfectly okay…like the girls have been on outstanding behavior…then other people will be safe." She closed her eyes. "I called the Mayor, and I begged him to get out of here. He won't listen." She smiled wryly. "He's more stubborn than I give him credit for sometimes…and not even a room of Turkish delight will sway him." She opened her eyes, and she suddenly was furious again. "Do you want to know what Mojo thinks of all of this? He's almost on the same page as me, believe it or not! And I know what he's making! Some of the things he's making…they're awful, and he feels…awful making them!" She shook her head. "I don't even want to talk about it."

This speech, which was more passionate than most of the ones politicians make, left us speechless and feeling even worse. I was grateful that it hadn't been made in the presence of the Powerpuff Girls. I don't know how they would have reacted.

Princess left us then, wishing us half-hearted luck on delivering the report to Him. "Oh…and by the way," she added, pausing by the exit. We hadn't bothered to lock it when she came upstairs. "I know that you're not going to tell Him about Buttercup's powers. Because you're not going to tell Him about anything I just told you…and you haven't told Him that I'm not…as thrilled about this as I should be." She thought about that last part. "Well, I suppose that goes without saying." She slammed the door, and I heard her steps pounding down the stairs.

We exchanged worried glances. We were in so much trouble…and there was nothing that we could do to stop it.

* * *

**A/N: So, to make a long story short: Buttercup has a new power that she can't use, Princess's daddy is in the hospital, the Professor is being forced to get out of the city, and Mojo Jojo might start having second thoughts about this. This is getting very tension-y! By the way, thanks so much to all of you who reviewed! The feedback was unbelievably helpful, and I truly appreciate it! :)**


	15. Chapter 15

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Chapter Fourteen

The metallic ring of the coin dropping onto the table echoed throughout the silent room. "Penny for your thoughts," the Monster said, offering an inviting smile. "I hope that the girls weren't too much trouble?"

"Nothing much to report," Snake said, lying through gritted teeth. The penny, which had been placed in front of us, was picked up again by Him. He walked—not floated, for once—around the table with a deliberately slow pace, stopping behind his next victim: Princess. The penny fell in front of her, encouraging her to share her opinion.

"_My_ thoughts are worth much more than that," she protested, lightly poking the coin with a nail. The Creature sighed.

"Perhaps you could clear up the issues behind contacting the dear Professor," he coaxed. His voice was deeper and more sinister. She forced a smile onto her face, and I realized something both strange and shocking: Princess had allegedly told the Professor to get out of town…but she didn't tell us if he actually had left.

"I…have been unable to return his calls…but I will try to steer him in the direction of the arcade," she stammered, trying to be helpful. Ace slumped over in his seat, and I knew that he was thinking along the same lines as me.

The Monster didn't notice, but he did brighten when Sedusa reported a bit of good news. The Amoeba Boys were adjusting to the new criminal tactics and fighting skills. The Creature told Mojo that the trio would soon be ready to undergo the "experiments" that had been discussed earlier. Ace sat up a little, and when the meeting was adjourned, we ran up to Princess, who was talking with Mojo about something.

"Has the Professor actually left the city of Townsville?" Snake asked quietly, his eyes darting around for traces of Him. He was gone, and we breathed a small sigh of relief.

"No," she whispered. "He's still in the city. But…I think that he's pretty safe."

"How safe is 'pretty safe'?" Boomer asked, worried.

"Shouldn't some of you be watching the girls?" Mojo grumbled.

"Nose goes!" Snake shouted, and our hands shot up to our faces. Snake turned to the losers: Brick and Boomer. "Go watch them."

"But we touched our noses!" Boomer argued, folding his arms in front of him.

"What noses?" The boys sighed, not in the mood to argue, and they left without complaining too much.

"I want to know about the projects…Him…wants for you to be working on," Ace said, lowering his sunglasses and staring down at Mojo. The monkey didn't flinch.

"Why?"

"Because I won't tell them myself," Princess replied, adjusting her fancy tiara casually. She shuddered. "I don't know how you can do this stuff, Jojo. It's awful."

"It's evil," Mojo replied. "And I, Mojo Jojo, am an evil monkey." I had to bite my lip to keep myself from laughing at the absurdity of that last declaration

"Not that evil," she said. "I'm not that evil! I have my limits! We all do!"

"Would it hurt too much just to show us…whatever it is?" Ace snapped. Mojo grumbled a little while longer, and he did some pacing, his royal purple cape dancing in the air. And then he stopped.

"Fine," he said curtly. We walked out of the arcade…and for the first time in a few days, I felt genuine excitement—we were really going back into the city! "Just don't destroy, damage, or dirty my things," he ordered, and Princess pressed a few buttons on her phone…the black limousine pulled up not five minutes later, and the driver held the door open for us.

"After you, boys," she said sweetly, and we piled in, barely containing our thrilled expressions…

* * *

The ride into the crowded, clean part of the city of Townsville was one of the best experiences of my life. The furniture in the car was made from "real Corinthian leather", according to Princess. There was a small refrigerator, and Princess prepared us all "sparkling water on the rocks". She was acting very pretentious, but none of us paid too much attention to her…and a small smile was on her face, like she was enjoying our reactions almost as much as we were enjoying the ride.

It ended quickly, and we entered the hideout of Mojo Jojo…if you could call it much of a hideout. It was more like a giant laboratory on top of a volcano in the middle of the city…so for most of the time, the Powerpuff Girls didn't have a problem tracking Mojo down.

The interior of the hideout, which the Gangrene Gang had never seen before, was just as impressive as the exterior. Bottles of bubbly, colorful liquid were lined up in neat rows on top of counters. Machines of all shapes and sizes popped, crackled, sizzled, shook, and beeped around us. And it was still very spacious and organized perfectly. This was the ideal villain hideout...

"Don't touch anything!" Mojo barked out when he saw Butch holding a beaker of vermillion liquid. The green Rowdyruff rolled his eyes and placed the beaker back in place…where it exploded, leaving only a small cloud of smoke. He walked away from the remains of the fluid, whistling nonchalantly and trying to act like an innocent bystander.

Mojo led us to a wall. He stopped in front of a tiny little keyboard that was attached to the wall. He pressed a few buttons on it, and a robotic version of his voice boomed throughout the hideout, "Password accepted. Identification confirmed. You are Mojo Jojo." Parts of the wallpaper suddenly peeled up neatly, revealing a door made out of glass. Mojo pushed on it, and we entered another room.

"We know who he is," Ace muttered to no one, trailing after the mad scientist. This room had fewer machines and almost no bottles of liquid. In fact, there were only three things in the whole room: a table covered with strange medical equipment was pushed against the wall. A giant canon of some kind was standing inconspicuously in the corner of the room, and a gigantic machine omitting curious buzzes, beeps, hums, and whirls took up the center of it all.

"Awesome," Butch breathed out, pointing at the machine. "What is that?"

"It's a containment field," Mojo announced, "one of my own design." His proud demeanor became an exasperated one when he saw that none of us—with the exception of Princess—knew what he was talking about. "Come on," he said motioning for us to follow him. We walked a little closer to the machine. He paced around it, his eyes full of adoration as he ran his gloved hands along the metallic surface of the machine. "Imagine a prison cell, not unlike the ones we used to stay in."

"Good times," Little Arturo said wistfully.

"Imagine one being used for a good purpose…some scientists working for the government use them to contain disease pathogens, infected patients, and what-not. This one…is not being used for anything like that, although it does hold something very dangerous."

"Is it zombies?" Big Billy asked timidly, and Mojo shot him a look.

"No, Dum-Dum," he replied, and Ace glared at the scientist.

"See that?" Princess asked, pointing at something inside the field. "You might have to take a step back and look up a little…but can't you see it?" We followed her directions, and I gasped. There was something unusual inside, something writhing and glowing…struggling to get free. It was dark orange, and it was the size of the Powerpuff Girls eight years ago.

"What is it?" Ace asked, squinting at it. The Shape made an inhuman wail as the machine beeped loudly, and I flinched. This was the sound of a person dying, I realized. And I nearly screeched when Princess answered Ace:

"That's the Powerpuff Girls' powers."

* * *

**A/N: Sorry that this chapter came a little late! I have a busy weekend ahead of me, and these next few days are going to be hectic! There probably won't be an update tomorrow, but I will update the revised edition of Masked Mouse's ****Fire in Cold Glow**** story!**


	16. Chapter 16

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Chapter Fifteen

I stared at the Shape, and I felt weaker and weaker as it squirmed and lashed out at the metallic walls of the container.

"So, it's only Chemical X," Butch cried out, taking in the strange sight with wide green eyes. "What's the big deal?"

"Wrong, incorrect, not right—all can describe that statement!" Mojo declared. But his voice, while still gruff, spoke gently as he observed the Shape's movements. "Chemical X is the mother of the Powerpuff Girls' power source. I have conducted studies with this chemical in the past, and I have learned one essential fact: Chemical X is not actual power. The energy that the girls used with their superpowers is actual power. And they've used that energy so much over the years...I don't know how that…Fiend…did it, but he stole that energy from the girls…and I know what Princess received with her invitation—"

"I don't want to talk about it," Princess said, closing her eyes.

"—but I received a special visit from Him. He dropped off that," Jojo pointed at the Shape, "and I wrestled it into this containment field." The Shape screamed as it lunged at the walls again. "What are the girls like now? Are their personalities still the same?"

"More or less," Ace replied, and Princess nodded. "Why does that matter?"

"It doesn't," Mojo answered. "Try to imagine a Powerpuff eight years ago…only she is powerful enough to blow up the world five hundred times, and she has no personality or identity at all. That is what I am holding in here." The Shape struck at the walls with something that resembled a fist.

"I'm going to be sick," Snake announced, dashing from the room.

"Don't puke all over my stuff," Mojo called after him.

"I think that your precious equipment is the least of our concerns at the moment," Princess told him. Mojo Jojo sighed.

"Where was I? Oh, yes! There are only two things that give the girls' energy a personality-of-sorts…no, it's not even a personality. But it feels pain, for starters," Mojo said, shooting the energy a pitying look. "It doesn't like the walls, but I can't risk placing it in another container." He sighed. "And then…I don't know about this one…but it has wants and needs, I think." He pointed at an area in the metal walls, where it was slightly dented. "Do you see that? It strikes there the most often…and I think that what it wants the most is coming from that direction." Mojo took the finger he was pointing with and directed it towards…the city of Townsville, which was visible through a giant window. "I don't know what it wants from the city, or where in the city it can be found, or who in the city can provide it, or why it wants it, or how much it wants—"

"Stop calling it 'it'!" Ace hollered, placing his hands over his ears. "It's getting really annoying!"

"Doesn't it have a name?" Big Billy asked innocently.

Mojo looked a little sheepish, and I became aware of the softer part of him preparing to be revealed. "I call it Bouncy." Everyone snorted, but said nothing. "It…bounces back off of the walls, and I think…that it will bounce over to whatever it wants…" Mojo scratched his unusual head. "I think that there might be…a connection that it has in the city, and it wants to reunite with that connection. I've considered the Professor, and the girls, but none of it seems to quite add up—"

"It's Buttercup," Ace said suddenly. "The connection is Buttercup!"

"How do you—?" Mojo demanded, but he was cut off. Ace was on a roll.

"She has some powers left," he explained hastily. "She can change shapes and alter her appearance a little. Could that be it?"

"If a piece of the energy is still with the girls…then a part of Bouncy is missing, and that is the connection! She wants to reunite with that missing piece!"

"Wouldn't that give the girls their powers back?" Princess asked, her dark eyes flashing.

"No," Mojo said, pacing back and forth, his eyes glazing over as he calculated furiously in his head. "No! It would transfer all of the powers to Buttercup! And she would have the energy and power source of her sisters as well as her own!_ She_ would be powerful enough to blow up the world five hundred times!"

"Oh, gosh," Little Arturo whispered.

The shocked silence spread throughout the room, but it broke quickly. "Um, Mojo…what are the other things that you're supposed to work on?" Ace asked weakly. Mojo didn't flinch.

"One is genetic experimentation…I am supposed to clone the Amoeba Boys to a point where they can form an invincible army. I don't want to do anything involving Bouncy, and I keep praying that Sedusa can speed up and improve the training with the Amoeba Boys…" He stiffened, and I suddenly realized that his fur, which had always been dark, was beginning to look a little gray. "I don't need Bouncy for that…"

"What do you need Bouncy for?" Ace asked, and Princess began shaking hysterically and uncontrollably.

Mojo pointed at the canon in the corner of the room. "You see that? Imagine if it was connected to Bouncy…imagine if she was somehow being aimed at a target…and imagine if she was fired at that target." Mojo pointed at the view of the city of Townsville, and then he pretended to crush the view with his fist. He turned back to us, and said one word: "Boom."

Bouncy screamed at the top of the lungs she probably didn't have, and Princess began weeping. Big Billy teetered and tottered, and he fell backwards onto the floor, having passed out from his own fear.

"Oh, we're dead meat, aren't we?" Ace said. I saw him mouth those words, but I couldn't hear much of anything over the beat of my heart in my eardrums and the screams of Bouncy.

* * *

**A/N: While writing this, I remembered Bunny, the purple Powerpuff. She was the inspiration for Bouncy, in some ways. Except Bunny was more human than Bouncy—Bunny was a Powerpuff with developmental disorders, I believe, and Bouncy is a human representation of a pure Chemical X Powerpuff without human DNA. I'm explaining this because Mojo can't—he probably doesn't know about Bunny. ;) Review!**


	17. Chapter 17

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Chapter Sixteen

Even with the combined efforts of Mojo Jojo, Princess, and the rest of the Gangrene Gang, we couldn't lift Big Billy off of the ground. It was Butch that could carry him into the other room using only one hand to support him.

Princess was impressed—but also a little upset. "Why did you sit back and watch us break a sweat when you could have carried that oaf away at any time?" She demanded as she wiped away actual beads of sweat that had appeared on her forehead.

"Didn't feel like it," he replied, watching the reaction of Mojo Jojo, which was worse than Princess's.

"Where did you put him?" He asked harshly.

"He's napping on the sofa in there," Butch said absentmindedly.

"Not the brand-new white one that I just purchased?" Mojo fumed. I was afraid that we would see a blood vessel pop on his brain.

"If it bothers you that much, I'll buy you a new one," Princess comforted him.

"Good," Mojo mumbled.

"Shut up!" Ace interrupted, standing perfectly still. "Everyone shut up—listen!"

It seemed like there was nothing to hear, aside from the many mechanic hums that the containment field made. Princess and Mojo looked cross at the command to shut up, and I was confused. There was nothing odd…no, there was! We weren't hearing Bouncy screaming in anguish anymore. She was silent as a grave…and just floating there, watching us. And I noticed that her shape was definitely that of a younger Powerpuff Girl: the crossed arms formed an overlap, she had no nose and no fingers…it even looked like she could have worn the same kind of dress like the girls used to wear. Two things would have made her unique: her signature color would have been orange, and her hair looked like it could have been worn in a ponytail.

She looked at the transparent metal walls intently. A small part of me praised Mojo for being the first scientist to come up with transparent metal walls, but most of my attention focused on the orange energy. She reached out a hand and touched the metal gently. She didn't scream this time, and she began tapping on the walls lightly. Every so often she'd pause, only to continue tapping again.

I recognized the patterns. It was Morse code. _She was talking to us_. And, thanks to my vague knowledge of that form of communication, _I understood her_.

And so did Mojo. He translated each letter, writing them down on a piece of paper. "D…A…N…G…E…R…L…I…N…K…what does that mean? "Danger" and "link" are not related! They are not supposed to be! There is no link to danger, with the exception of chaos! I, Mojo Jojo, know this to be a fact!"

The Shape kept tapping, and Mojo began translating again. "F…A…T…H…E…R…H…E…L…P…M…E…this is 'father, help me'? Who is her father? She has no father!"

"I think these are probably the only words she knows!" Princess said, snapping her fingers. "When the Powerpuff Girls were born, were they eloquent speakers right away?"

"Yes," Mojo said, closing his eyes. "They were."

I closed my eyes, remembering our first encounter with the girls. Buttercup hadn't developed a bond with Ace right away…and the girls didn't try fighting us at all. And then Mojo, of all people, came to their rescue.

"'Link'," Butch echoed, suddenly floating up to make eye contact with Bouncy. She stared at him, but when he touched the glass, she pulled away. "Hey…do you think that I could be the link? My brothers and I—"

"—do not contain Chemical X, still have all of your powers, and are therefore not magnets to her," Mojo finished.

"Anyway," Princess said, shaking her hair. "She doesn't know as much as the Powerpuff Girls do...she only knows a few words. Why?"

"She is not a pure Powerpuff! She is not a real human! She has no personality! How many times must I say this?" Mojo was getting exasperated, but Bouncy kept tapping on the glass. I managed to catch a few broken phrases here and there, but most of it didn't make sense. It was pure gibberish.

And Ace was still focusing on the other big issue. "Are you going to use her to blow up the city? Is that it?" He demanded angrily.

"I don't know," Mojo admitted. "That is my theory as well…for stage four or whatever the Fiend calls it."

"Daddy won't be able to leave the city!" Princess cried hysterically.

"And what about Boomer and Brick—they can't go anywhere without me! We stick together!"

"What about the girls? And Sedusa and the Amoeba Boys…?"

"Do you think that I'm not concerned?" Mojo asked in disbelief. "My stuff is here—!"

"For the love of Pete, forget about your stupid junk!" Ace cried out, rolling his eyes. "Come on, guys," he said, turning to the rest of us, "let's just go." He turned his back for one second, and he was on the ground before he knew that Mojo had thrown a beaker at him. Ace swore loudly as his chin made contact with the floor, and the rest of us glared at Mojo with contempt or fear.

"Do you not realize what this junk is? This is a lifetime's supply of hard work! My brain children, my inventions, my home—ALL ARE HERE!" He shouted so loud that Bouncy, the screaming Shape of energy, covered her ears.

"My home is here, too!" Ace yelled back. And he ran right up to Mojo and socked him in the face, harder than any of the punches he would have thrown at Snake. I'm surprised Mojo didn't lose a tooth. And I was even more surprised when he found the energy to throw a few more punches back at Ace. And it became a fist-fight, a really violent struggle.

"Oh, stop it, stop it!" Princess screamed. "We don't have time for this!" And Bouncy started tapping on the glass furiously. Mojo and Ace paused in their brawl, their fists posed to strike. "We need to get along…we need to. The one thing we have in common is hanging in the balance! That's the only thing that matters." She pulled out that ridiculous phone again, and she pressed a few buttons on it. "I don't want anyone to start fighting again." She suddenly looked very matronly. "So say you're sorry, or I'm leaving…and then nobody will continue to finance your project. And then a certain Lobster-Man will get really angry with a certain Mojo Jojo…" Her voice trailed off.

Mojo forced a smile onto his face. "I am so sorry for throwing a beaker at you. I really, really am. Believe me." I snorted a little, and the fake smile became a genuine smirk.

"Don't mention it," Ace said, waving it off. "I'm sorry for calling all of this junk. Who am I to use that word when we live in the junk yard?"

"Good point."

"Yeah, I know."

"Goody, we're all best friends again," Princess sneered. "Now…let's focus on what we are going to do now!" She sighed as she put the phone away. "What if we are asked to blow up the city of Townsville? What are we going to do then?"

"I could just…refuse," Mojo offered. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"We're getting so paranoid over this," Snake muttered as Little Arturo began contemplating in Spanish and Big Billy began droning on about the zombies.

"And is that a bad thing?" Princess asked him. "Would you smile for Him and willingly blow up the city, destroying everything that you've ever known?"

"Of course not—no, I wouldn't—!"

"Good. Then help us think of a plan!" Princess exclaimed.

"I think that we should see what we're supposed to do…and if it is to blow up the city…" Butch said thoughtfully. "What if we have to do that in the end?"

"You could always…miss," Princess suggested, her eyes dark with inspiration.

"What do you mean?" Ace asked, lowering his sunglasses.

"Bouncy is hard to control…she could…escape and go somewhere else," Princess suggested. "She could hit someone else…such as Him."

"That's more than a little grim," Ace told her.

"And we'll have to do it in the end," she replied darkly.

"But in the meantime…I think I'll just stick to the generic experiments," Mojo brought up quietly. We all nodded in agreement.

* * *

It was raining by the time we arrived back at the Arcade. Princess hadn't accompanied us inside of her limo. She called it out for Butch and the Gangrene Gang, and she decided to stay behind with Mojo.

We trudged through the rain, our heads bowed. We entered the upstairs area, and couldn't find the girls or Brick and Boomer anywhere. When we did find them, it was in Blossom's room, and she was reading aloud. Bubbles and Buttercup were invested in the reading, and they didn't hear us come in. The boys looked anxious, and they were more than a little relieved when they saw us standing in the doorway.

"'If you knew how great is a father's love, you would have no fear'," Blossom read softly, turning the page with reverence. Ace grinned at us, placed a finger over his lips, and tiptoed into the room. The girls were facing away from us, and I realized that he was going to give them quite a scare. I was amused, but most of my mind wondered how he could make jokes at a time like that. But then again, there's a time and a place for everything, and some things will never belong in certain times or places…and I didn't want too much misery to be associated with the Powerpuff Girls. None of us did. So I was grateful for Ace's attempt to lighten the mood.

And it was almost soiled by Blossom's reading. "'See, dear sisters, there is the door still standing open. Ah, now we are rewarded for our sublime faith in a father's love…'" Ace continued to tiptoe behind the girls, but there was a moment in which Big Billy almost blew our cover by crying out with sadness. Snake stepped on his foot.

Then Ace reached the girls, and covered Buttercup's eyes with his hands, screaming in her ear. The Powerpuff Girls screamed from the shock of it all, and Ace laughed the hardest out of any of us. "You're all jerks!" Buttercup hollered, wincing and rubbing the sides of her head. "I value my eardrums, thank you very much!"

"Oh, lighten up!" Ace told her, snickering. The girls giggled in spite of themselves, and they laughed so hard that they cried. In fact, once they stopped laughing, they didn't stop crying.

We decided then that enough was enough, and the least we could do was give the girls some peace. Blossom crawled onto her bed, and Boomer escorted Bubbles to hers. And Buttercup was so upset that she could hardly stand on her own. Ace had to carry her, and she stopped crying long enough to ask him if he had washed his hands. "Does that matter?" He answered.

"Don't drop me," she warned him, sniffling and managing to sound tough.

"I won't," he assured her. "I'm strong."

She didn't say anything and the rest of the Gangrene Gang— including myself—was too shocked by this touching action to do or say anything. We didn't follow our leader to her room, and we didn't register any thoughts when he emerged from that room with empty arms.

And when I dreamed that night, it was of the earth yawning beneath us…and I heard tapping, tapping in my ears.

"The time has come for business, not pleasure. And we all know that life is the greatest treasure."

In my sleep, I wept tears of sorrow and pain and gratitude.

* * *

**A/N: This was a hard chapter to write. I didn't know what direction to go in…but it does contain foreshadowing, and it does touch on the bonds the characters have: friendly rivalries, romance, and father-daughter bonds. Bouncy acknowledges something as her father, and the girls are reading about a father's love for his children. (The passages Blossom reads are from "Peter Pan". I altered a few of the words to fit the context of the story better.) REVIEW! :)**


	18. Chapter 18

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Chapter Seventeen

Mojo Jojo was the one who showed upstairs that morning. He was excited about something, and he kept going on and on about something important sounding.

"And she can talk in full sentences…it is as if there is a strand of the DNA inside! I was wrong, incorrect, misled, off track, and not right! She has a single strand of DNA, and that DNA can give her brain activity! If she gets brain activity, then she can think! And that is why she is able to communicate!"

"What are you talking about, Mojo?" Ace asked, yawning. The girls were still sleeping in their rooms, and we had crashed in the lounge of sorts, exhausted. I was rubbing my head, thinking over the eerie, creepy rhyme from my nightmare…what did it all mean?

"Bouncy can think! She, being the source of power for the girls, is technically pure energy—"

"And part of the world's most dangerous weapon," Snake muttered.

"—but she was able to communicate with us through Morse code, resembles the form of a younger Powerpuff, and therefore, must have some slight intellect—"

"I can't believe you called it 'Bouncy'," Snake added. Ace slapped him lightly on the shoulder, a warning to stay quiet.

"—and it is possible that she does contain a strand of Powerpuff DNA," Mojo finished, ignoring us. "It is not enough to make her 'alive', per say, but it is enough to give her a brain that functions to some extent." He seemed proud with himself over something. "After you left my laboratory last night, I engaged Bouncy in a full conversation with Morse code."

"Did she have anything important to say?"

"No," Mojo admitted, looking crestfallen. "Towards the end, it started coming out in gibberish…she thinks that I'm her father!"

"You're ours, technically, aren't you?" We turned to see the three Rowdyruff Boys hovering in the doorway, their arms folded, their eyes narrowed. "We may have forgotten much," Boomer added, "thanks to Him, but we know the truth. You're our father." They floated inside and settled down on the furniture opposite our gang, staring at Mojo.

"I thought you did not need a father," Mojo replied curtly. "I thought that the only thing you cared about was destroying the Powerpuff Girls."

"Hey!" Blossom's shrill voice rang through the air, and we turned to face her and her sisters. They were standing in the doorway—I bet they wished that they could have been hovering, like the Rowdyruff Riffraff—and sulking.

"Sorry," Brick said nonchalantly, and the girls glared at him.

Bubbles decided to break the ice by asking, "Where's Princess?"

"She'll be along soon," Mojo replied. "I hope so. I am impatient, and I—Mojo Jojo—do not like waiting when there is a lot of suspense!"

"What suspense is there?" By this point, we were so used to having people sneak up and appear randomly in the doorways that we were not surprised by the sudden entry of Princess Morbucks.

"Hello," Big Billy mumbled to her.

She muttered some sort of impatient hello, and then turned back to Mojo. "This doesn't make a lot of sense! She has enough DNA to give her brain activity, but—"

"Don't question the logic behind her again, or I—Mojo Jojo—will go ballistic," he interrupted. She rolled her eyes.

"There is something I have to tell you," she added. "I met up with Sedusa after I left the lab last night."

"And did you have a Girls' Night Out?" Ace teased.

Princess stared at him blankly. "She has different…fashion sense than me. And I don't do 'Girls' Nights Out' or whatever." She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and adjusted her pretty tiara. "The Amoeba Boys…are ready for whatever. She was impressed with their efforts. They're harder workers than she gives them credit for." She opened her diamond-encrusted clutch, pulled out some lip gloss, and applied several shiny layers of it over her lips. "Does this mean that you will clone them now?"

"I believe so," Mojo replied, bowing his head. "If it is a part of the plan of Him, then yes…and I know that it is a part of the plan of Him, so therefore, I must clone them soon."

"Why do you have to clone them?" Bubbles asked innocently. My gut twisted, and everyone else flinched a little at the sound of a Powerpuff speaking. We had almost forgotten that they did not know everything about the plan, and that they did not know about Bouncy and the other inventions Mojo had come up with to please Him.

"That's not your concern," Princess replied in just as sweet a voice.

"It is!" Buttercup insisted, glaring at the debutante.

"Whatever!" Mojo growled, storming to the door. "I shall clone them later. By this time tomorrow, there shall be an army of Amoeba Boys surrounding the MCA Arcade, and then…I shall continue with the modifications of the other inventions that I—Mojo Jojo—have been ordered to create!"

"If there is an army of Amoeba Boys surrounding the arcade," Buttercup called out with mild interest, "will there be no more visits from the rest of you?"

"We shall miss you," Blossom said honestly to Brick and Boomer, "and I know that you did enjoy the story from yesterday."

"I'll keep coming up here," Ace replied, raising his sunglasses a little. He was looking at Buttercup when he said this, and the teeny-tiny red flag that had been waving in the back of my mind increased in size. I didn't know why he was being so nice to the girls—and by that, I meant Buttercup—but I didn't like it.

And this raised another red flag: one that screamed out that we didn't know what the Creature had planned for the girls in stages four through six…

"I did not see Buttercup use her power," Mojo complained. We had left the girls in the lounge in silence. Brick and Boomer offered to guard them again, and we were pleasantly surprised by this sudden show of enthusiasm.

"We don't tell her when to use her powers, and we don't tell you when to invent things," Princess replied.

"Yes, I guess that's really the purpose of Him," Snake snickered. Ace punched him in the shoulder.

"Stop it!" Big Billy whined.

Ace glared at him when he lowered his sunglasses. "I don't like talking about Him—especially not now, not after what happened to Fuzzy, not after what happened to the girls, not after we found out about the inventions, not ever again! So unless you want a fist in your face, I suggest that we keep our comments about Him to ourselves." He adjusted the glasses again, and everyone watched him take charge. "Tonight is going to be big, isn't it?"

"Yes," Princess answered quietly. "It is."

"We're in a lot of trouble, aren't we?" Little Arturo asked.

"Si," she nodded.

"Will the zombies take over?" Big Billy wondered.

"There is no such thing as zombies!" Snake yelled, leaning to his left to duck Ace's fist.

"Stop it," Princess told them calmly and firmly. She wasn't getting hysterical about these things anymore. Our sadness and anger was being drained out and replaced with dread for the next time we would face Him. "Just stop it," she repeated, like she was a mother scolding her three-year-old child. "We," she continued, pointing at herself, Mojo, each member of the Gangrene Gang, and Butch, "may have reached some sort of truce…and that includes Boomer and Brick. But we aren't finished here. Come with me." She led us out of the building, where her limo was waiting.

"Don't you ever drive your own car?" Butch asked once we all piled inside.

"Don't test me," she curtly said. "I'm not in the mood." She tapped on the window that separated the passengers from the driver. "Take us to Dairy Queen," she ordered. "And make it snappy!"

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I was suffering from major writer's block while I was writing this. Reviews will be welcomed, please! However, here's a little secret: I have the conclusion all planned out. We're going to have a comic relief/character development chapter next, and then we're going to get into the fast-paced action and the ending. I must warn you, though…there is a twist that will make M. Night Shyamalan green with envy! (I just saw **_**Signs**_**…gosh, that was awful!)**


	19. Chapter 19

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Chapter Eighteen

"I thought you didn't eat anything fattening," Snake mocked when the limo pulled into the parking lot.

"Shut up," Princess said flatly. "I told you not to test me." She groaned. "Besides…I need to get off my diet. My Sweet Sixteen is on the way, and I'm going to lose my mind if I can't eat at least a low-fat chocolate cake." The door opened, and she stepped out, examining the joint. "It's been forever since I've been here. Daddy used to take me here all the time. As soon as he bailed me out of jail, he'd have the driver take us here…and we'd always talk about the future. He was always so proud of me, and he didn't want for me to be a Powerpuff Girl."

"But you did," Snake pointed out. Princess ignored him.

"Come on," she said, motioning for us to follow her. "Let's go. I have a booth booked for us."

"How is one tiny little booth going to fit all of us?" Butch demanded. Princess let out a frustrated grunt, and she suddenly speed-walked towards the entrance, determined to put as much distance between her and the rest of us. We followed her as slowly as we possibly could…but we began sprinting as soon as we heard her screaming...and we had to push our way past a crowd of people leaving the Dairy Queen in order to get inside. They looked like they were fleeing for their lives.

"I don't care how much this will cost me!" She was shouting, glaring at a man wearing a tag that said "Manager" on it. "I just want to rent out the place for FIFTEEN MINUTES! Is that too much to ask, you cheapskates?"

"Of course not, Princess Morbucks," the man stammered. He was sweating like a pig at a luau, and Princess was fuming.

"Calm down," a seductive voice called out, and I turned to face the source.

Sedusa was sitting in the booth farthest away from the commotion. She was daintily playing with her ice cream and observing the scene with mild interest. The Amoeba Boys sat across from her, looking more invested in the chaos than her. I glanced at Ace. He slowly nodded in greeting at the Amoeba Boys, but he didn't look once at Sedusa. The rest of the gang mimicked his movements. Butch waved awkwardly at Sedusa and the Amoeba Boys, and Mojo only grunted some sort of greeting.

Princess huffed and puffed, but she managed to place a regal grin on her face as she said calmly, "Let's sit." She walked over to the booth and sat primly next to Sedusa. We followed her, but we didn't sit down. She snapped her fingers twice, and the manager rushed over. "Give us all blizzards…like the ones we see in the commercials. And make it snappy!"

"You don't have to be so rude," Sedusa muttered, swirling her straw around. "I haven't even finished this one."

"I can't help it," Princess said. "I can't help it! I've been anxious ever since I decided to plan this!"

"Why did you decide to plan this?" Sedusa asked, eyeing the rest of us out of the corner of her eye. "Let's review the company." She slurped the last few drops of the ice cream noisily. "Butch, you're looking a bit nervous. What's wrong? Are you not so tough without your older brothers around?"

He slammed his fist onto the table. The Amoeba Boys jumped, but Sedusa didn't flinch. "I'm older than Boomer!" Sedusa snickered before continuing.

"Mojo, you're looking well, but I hardly think that standing by and watching your son act like an idiot will hardly win you the Parent of the Year award."

"Babying him won't solve the problem," Mojo argued, and two pink spots appeared on the cheeks of his "son". "Besides, how many children do YOU have? Zero, last time I checked."

"I've taken others under my wing," she said daintily. "The Amoeba Boys are like my apprentices, and…" She looked at our gang. A small smile dawned on her face. "I've had others in the past."

"You did NOT look after us," Snake argued. Big Billy, the gentle one, audibly cracked his knuckles. Little Arturo muttered something in Spanish that sounded like, "Media," but I wasn't paying too much attention. I was glaring at Sedusa, the painful memories of the last time we met flooding back.

She had made Ace cry. I had never seen him cry before…I don't know if it was the shame of it, the shock of it, or the...disappointment.

I remembered how calm he had been when we were aiding the girls. He had talked to Blossom about the weaknesses Sedusa had…and we left for our favorite arcade after our job was done. It had been satisfying, but now…

"Others that were plenty powerful on their own," Ace said quietly, bringing us back to the present. "Others that could—and did—stab you in the back…the same way you stabbed us in the back."

"And the same way that I stabbed you in the heart," Sedusa added airily.

"Don't flatter yourself," Ace warned, and Princess groaned, drumming her fingers on the table.

"And the same way you stabbed a certain Powerpuff Girl in the heart," she continued mercilessly. "Poor thing…she still hasn't quite recovered yet, has she? I suppose no one forgets their first heartbreak, but hers was especially hard, wasn't it?"

"Shut up," Ace said in a voice that was dangerously soft. If he had used that voice while talking to me, I would have fled for my life. I took a step back. So did the rest of the people that were standing. Princess looked scared, like she wanted to join us, but she still wanted to compose a meeting. I saw the poor manager standing several feet away from our group. He was holding a tray of blizzards, and he looked worse than Princess did.

"Well, I can hardly blame her," Sedusa said sweetly. "Classic thing you tried to do to her sisters…it did work almost, didn't it? You can't blame a guy for trying, huh?"

Ace stormed away from us. He headed towards the manager, snatched one of the largest blizzards from him, and returned to the table. With one swift motion, he poured the contents of the cup all over the unique hairstyle of Sedusa. She shrieked as her head was soaked.

"I have my regrets," Ace said fiercely. "Clearly, you don't." He placed the cup on her head, like some sort of hat, and he straightened. "Guys, let's am-scray before the Royal Strategist decides to hold us here and have the meeting anyway." I nodded, and the rest of the Gangrene Gang followed him. We had to walk past the poor manager on the way to the exit, and Ace grabbed one more blizzard from him.

Upon reaching the exit, we found two burly-looking men there, blocking the exit. They wore T-shirts that said _Morbucks Security_ on it. I whirled around just in time to see Princess putting her blasted phone away, tucking it into that clutch. "I wouldn't try anything stupid, if I were you," she called out, not watching us. "I went to a lot of trouble to plan this, and I will have something good come from this meeting. Hansel and Sheldon don't want to hurt you, but they will if I tell them to."

Ace eyed the two men, and his grip on the blizzard tightened. I thought about taking it away from him so that we could fight the bodyguards off—Big Billy could easily take down one of them—but Snake looked unsure of the whole situation. Ace stormed back over to Princess and the rest of the group. Mojo Jojo and Butch were sitting down in a booth opposite the one that held Princess.

"I was hoping that we could settle our differences," Princess said nervously. "I know that there are a few issues at hand that need to be settled." She glared at Sedusa. "And I think that you can be the first to apologize."

"What did I do now?" She asked innocently.

"Don't play dumb with us! You KNOW what you did!" Princess accused. Ace nodded in agreement. "Now, apologize to Ace."

"Fine," Sedusa smirked. "I am so sorry about tricking you…eight years ago. I really am." She suddenly frowned. "I am, believe me."

"Whatever," Ace muttered, trying to look invested in the contents of his cup. "This is a really good blizzard."

"Your turn," Princess ordered, turning her glare on him.

"What? What did I do?"

"You poured ice cream all over my hair!" Sedusa yelled.

"Sorry about that," Ace mumbled, not really meaning it. Sedusa grinned without humor.

"Let's see you grovel a little bit."

"What do you want from me?" He demanded impatiently.

"I'm joking!" She said hastily when Princess's face turned beet red. "Now…we've gotten everything cleared up, haven't we? Let's get down to business!"

"Well…that was primarily the reason for us meeting here," Princess said awkwardly.

"Just so that we could apologize…you're kidding, right?" Sedusa asked incredulously. Princess shrugged.

"We need to be together when the time comes for stage four…I don't know what we are going to do. I need for you to know that you're not siding with Him, you're siding with us." She raised her eyebrows. "How can we trust you?"

"Yeah," Little Arturo echoed, "how can we trust you?"

Sedusa bit her lip, and glanced around the place anxiously, out of fear of being overheard. She raised her eyebrows skeptically at the manager before continuing in a whisper. "The…Thing we're working for thinks that I've been training _these three_ for guard duty and stuff." She gestured at the Amoeba Boys. "But the potential was overwhelming…I had to train them for other things. And now, if the rest of you are planning on…doing something," she shot us a peculiar glance, "they'll be like an army against all of the powers of Him."

"We've learned that when we point the barrel of the gun at someone, it makes a mess," one of them—Bossman—added. "When we make messes, people get angry. But when we make this kind of mess, Sedusa congratulates us." He beamed, and Sedusa smiled a genuinely kind smile.

"Guns aren't going to do much against what I've been working on," Mojo cut in, causing Sedusa to frown. "A whole army won't do much against what I've been working on."

Sedusa grinned, suddenly undaunted. "But we also have a Powerpuff Princess—"

"Oh, come off it," Princess muttered.

"—a potential army of potential soldiers—"

"Is she talking about us?" Another Amoeba Boy whispered.

"—the Rowdyruff Boys—"

"It's Riffraff!" Butch called out, frustrated.

"—whatever, an evil genius with weapons of mass destruction—"

"I—Mojo Jojo—am flattered," the monkey said in a mockingly sweet voice.

"—a gang of pretty smart thugs—"

"Is that all you have to say about us?" Snake asked angrily.

"—and me!" Sedusa finished triumphantly.

Ace didn't seem to mind that Sedusa had offered us the least amount of flattery. He towered over her suddenly, a tiny smile on his face. "You're right about that, Miss Persuasive!" He extended his hand for her to shake.

"Thank you," she smiled, taking it. "I'd say we have a pretty fair chance against the Lobster. And if not, I'll die trying to defend the city of Townsville—our home!"

We cheered, not caring if we would be overheard or stared at. And Princess called off the bodyguards, and when we walked past the manager again, we each grabbed a blizzard from him. We stood outside for a while, just enjoying the sun and enjoying life. It's a beautiful thing. And then Princess hopped in her limo. "Any of you losers want a ride?"

"I could use a lift back to the lab," Mojo said, walking over to the limo.

"Yes," Butch said, hovering over to it. Princess smiled.

"I was hoping you would," she chirped, fluttering her eyelashes at him. My mouth might have dropped open. Thank goodness for the Amoeba Boys. They were in need of a ride when Sedusa ordered them to go with Mojo.

So the Gangrene Gang was left with Sedusa. She bit her lip and stared at us. "I'm glad we finally managed to get over it," she said softly. She made a face as she reached up and twirled a lock of damp hair. "But I can't believe you poured ice cream over my head!"

"Impulse," Ace shrugged.

"You sound just like Buttercup," she lightly taunted.

"So?"

"I think that's a cute thing," she said nonchalantly. "It's like…opposites attract, and then find out they're not so opposite after all." I might have blanked out a little here—we all might have—and she groaned. "It's an old saying. Whatever."

"There's nothing going on with me and Buttercup," Ace said firmly. If Sedusa had been a member of our gang, she would have dropped the topic. But she wasn't and she kept on going.

"I've seen the way she looks at you," she said, wringing out a lock of hair. "It's like you're her favorite brand of hair cream, and she can't wait to get her hands on it."

"You had me at 'hair'," Ace said, probably rolling his eyes behind his shades. She sighed.

"Okay, you're her favorite…whatever it is Powerpuff Girls want, and she can't wait to get her hands on it." Sedusa smirked, and Ace kicked at something on the ground.

"Whatever," he said. "Guys, let's head back to the MCA Arcade. I feel embarrassed. We've spent too many days in there without looking at any games." We started to walk away.

"Can't wait to see your girlfriend?" Sedusa called after us, and Ace laughed half-heartedly.

"She is not my girlfriend," he muttered, not addressing any of us.

"Is tonight going to be scary?" Big Billy asked timidly. Ace's head snapped up.

"Yes," he answered as we trudged along. "Tonight is going to be scary…"

* * *

**A/N: I've been so behind on my fan fiction! I'm so sorry! Don't worry, though! Who wants to know about stage four? Any guesses as to what's going to happen?**


	20. Chapter 20

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Chapter Nineteen

"Is there anything worth checking out?" Buttercup yawned. She was stretched out on the couch in her room, staring up at the ceiling. Ace had led the gang around the upstairs area of the arcade so that we could say goodbye to the girls…for what we had thought would be one of the last times.

"Excuse me?" Ace asked.

"Are there any games worth checking out? I mean, come on, I've been stuck in an arcade for days now…and I haven't been allowed to look at those antique games! So I want to know if they're worth looking at. Or are they just junky machines?"

"Mostly junk," he responded. And it was true. "The only thing that isn't broken down there is some pinball machine." We had played around with that stupid game for what felt like hours before we finally decided to go and say goodbye. Butch arrived to join us, but Princess returned to check up on Mojo Jojo and Bouncy.

"That stinks," Buttercup said, crinkling her nose sympathetically. (Yes, a tiny nose had sprouted on her face like a cream-colored pimple while she was talking to Ace. We stared at it until she realized that her superpower was acting up. The nose withered and faded into her skin.)

Ace cut to the chase. "We've come to say goodbye."

She blinked a little. "You mean that you're going to say goodbye before you go to talk with Him?"

"This is the last time we're probably going to talk with Him," Ace continued. "I think that tonight…things are going to change for the worse."

"What's going to happen to the Professor?" She asked, suddenly alarmed. Blossom and Bubbles had asked us the same question in the same worried tone of voice.

"I think that he's safe," Ace replied with no hesitation. "Princess did everything to make sure that he was safe. But we don't know what's going to happen to the rest of us. Only that it's going to be very bad, and—"

"—and that you have some involvement in it," Buttercup finished angrily.

"No, no, that's not what I meant," he started to say hastily. But she was suddenly on her feet, staring at us like we were worse than Him.

"We knew that there was something wrong with you the minute you attacked us in the streets!" She said accusingly. I shut my eyes as the painful memories of that night came flooding back again...she didn't take pity on us.

"And yet you constantly allow us to wander free," Ace said, trying to be casual. She stiffened, and suddenly made a decision to ignore him. She turned to the rest of us.

"I'll miss you all, though," she said with small amounts of sincerity. "I hope that you don't get too much damage from Him. It'll probably be worse for me and my sisters."

"You can say that again," Snake muttered. Buttercup cracked a smile, even though he wasn't exactly helping.

"Don't worry about it, 'k?" She said. She threw her arms around Snake's shoulders and hugged him tightly. Snake was too shocked by this action to say anything. "I'll be fine. We all will be. Don't let Ace punch you so much, all right?" She pulled away and knelt down so that she could look Little Arturo right in the eye. "My Spanish is not good, but…"

"_Vas a __estar__ bien_," he replied, nodding once.

"I think that's what I wanted to say," she said.

"It's what Bubbles tried to tell me," he answered. She smiled and hugged him once. She turned to Big Billy.

"Don't worry about us," she told him kindly, but firmly. "Just trust your gut, and when it tells you to punch someone bad…punch him!"

"Your sisters said to trust my brain and my heart," he said, confused. She smirked and rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Maybe it's some combination of those." She hugged him. "Take care, all right?" He started bawling, and she pulled away and turned to me. I think that this was one of the first times she ever said anything to me, one-on-one. She hugged me. "I want for you to say something from time to time. And if not, at least write down what you want to say, because some thoughts are too pure and too beautiful to be kept bottled up and hidden away from the world."

This was probably the most poetic thing to ever come from the mouth of a Powerpuff Girl, and I was touched. She smiled once again at the rest of us, ignoring Ace. "Goodbye, you all. If you get the chance," she said, lowering her voice to a whisper, "punch Him in the face for me." Big Billy nodded, and the rest of us smiled. We left, and I closed the door behind me.

I realized that Ace was still in the room with Buttercup before she cried out, "What are you still doing here?"

"I'm saying goodbye!" He replied, much too loudly. I looked at Snake, the second-in-command.

"What the heck," he said, sitting down in front of the door. "Let's just enjoy this while we can." The rest of the gang followed suit, listening to the shouting match going on inside of the room. The Rowdyruff Riffraff had been saying goodbye to Blossom, and they floated down to join us. They wondered if we should perhaps intervene, but Brick decided that this was too entertaining a show to interrupt.

After about a few minutes of yelling, loud stage whispers joined their exchange. I pressed my ear against the doorway, listening in. At one point, I bit down on my fist to keep myself from gasping. "What is it, Grubber?" Snake asked. I blew a soft raspberry, and everyone—with the exception of the Rowdyruff Riffraff—gasped.

"What is it?" Boomer asked.

"He's giving her his sunglasses," Snake replied. I interrupted him again. "Wait, now she's refusing to take them…what now, Grubber?"

I translated their argument for a while. She refused to take the sunglasses. He insisted that he wouldn't need them for much longer, and she said that she didn't want his old shades. He decided to keep them, but he asked her if she wanted their last meeting to be like this—with shouts and screams and bitterness. She said no after a few moments of hesitation.

At this point, I couldn't hear much, and I decided to peek through the keyhole. Ace was offering her his hand to shake. She refused and turned away. Then she started crying, and I pulled away, knowing that we shouldn't be spying on them.

It occurred to me…call it a Sixth Sense or whatever…that somebody was going to die that night. I didn't know who it was, or if it was me. But somebody was going to die. I shared this with my fellow eavesdroppers, and they nodded. Apparently, they knew this, too. We started to head towards the exit, and Ace emerged from Buttercup's room, his head bent,

"How did it go?" Butch asked innocently.

"Better than I thought," he replied coldly. "Come on, they're waiting for us."

I held the door open for everyone. They all walked down the stairs. I lingered a while longer, taking one last, long look around the place before closing the door and locking up. I realized as we walked down the stairs that we had forgotten to assign guards to be with the girls, but by this point, I couldn't have cared less. It would all be over soon…

* * *

The Monster was smiling a wicked grin at us. He had been upset about something at the start of the meeting, and I could have sworn that I heard him whisper, "He won't be too happy about this." But I shook this off.

"Where are the Amoeba Boys?" He asked Sedusa angrily as soon as she entered.

"At that old lab, of course," she replied, examining a perfect lock of hair that dangled in front of her eyes. "Isn't that right, Mojo?"

"Yes, they have completed their training, and I have completed the cloning, so I—Mojo Jojo—have completed all of the tasks that we asked of me," the monkey said gruffly. The Monster raised his eyebrows, impressed.

"And I suppose that I overestimated the girls' capabilities," he said to our "team". "There hasn't been anything new to report from them? No interesting shows of power at all?"

"None whatsoever," Snake lied.

And that statement is what triggered the Monster's evil grin. "Stage three…is a success!" He announced gleefully. Nobody sighed with relief. All this meant was that we were one step closer to the possible destruction of the city of Townsville.

The Monster smiled at our "team", and he tossed us small bits of cloth, and rope. "It truly pains me to take these measures," he said sarcastically, "but I don't want to have any bumps in the plan. Everything must be exactly the way I envisioned it." Ace took the cloth and rope in his hands, and he eyed them, confused. "This is something that they must see," the Monster mused. "It's going to be fabulous! But, very time-consuming…I won't have them running off." I stared at my feet, wondering about how long the Creature had been planning this…and if he was going to destroy the city, why was there a need for some big show?

"We'll have to tie them together," he said, "using the rope. And use the gags. I don't want to hear them screaming when it starts."

It took all of my self-control to keep myself from screaming, too. We left the room, followed by the three floating boys, and I nearly broke down.

_It had begun_.

* * *

**A/N: All right, everybody! Sorry it's been taking me so long to update. But my brother has been too sick to keep me on track, so what do you expect? Anyway, please review and let me know how you think this is going to turn out! Who will live? Who will die? Stage four has commenced!**


	21. Chapter 21

Fill in the Blanks

LuluCalliope

Chapter Twenty

They were just standing there, waiting in the lounge for us. Blossom looked at the rope in Ace's hands, and she actually smiled, almost giddily. "What's so funny?" Snake asked in a tense sort of voice.

"I've ALWAYS wanted to be the damsel in distress and the next Houdini at the same time!" She clapped her hands eagerly before crossing her arms and glaring at us. "Of course, you're so stupid, none of you know who Houdini was, do you?"

"They're not stupid," Buttercup said to her sister as the Rowdyruff Riffraff flew over to their female counterparts and held their hands behind their backs. The rest of us watched as Ace went about binding their wrists and gagging them. He started with Blossom, and Buttercup kept talking. "They're just so easy to trick. They're gullible."

"No, we're not," Ace argued, tightening the rope's grip on Blossom's hands. She flinched a little. "We have a pretty good idea of what's going to happen."

"Then stop it before things get out of hand," she suggested, narrowing her eyes at him. Bubbles started trembling, and I started praying that she wouldn't start crying. Because if she did, Big Billy would, and then I'd lose my mind, and—

"What do you suggest we do?" Ace asked her. Blossom opened her mouth to share one of her brilliant plans, but Ace cut her off with the gag.

"Let us go! Give us back our powers, and we can save the city of Townsville!" Blossom nodded her head ecstatically, and Bubbles voiced her agreement.

"Maybe we can find the Professor and see if he's okay," she added quietly. Her sisters fell silent, and Ace turned back to Blossom's bound hands.

"Do you have to give her rope burn?" Brick asked. He winced at the tight hold the rope had on her wrists.

"We can't take any chances," Ace replied. "And yes," he said, turning to the oldest Powerpuff, "we know who Houdini was." She raised her eyebrows, mildly impressed. Ace moved along to Bubbles, and Brick helped Blossom to her feet.

"I won't argue with you," Bubbles told Ace. "If I am going to die, I want to be happy. In fact, I'm thinking about how silly our first meeting was." Ace silenced her immediately with the gag, not wanting to think about the painful past at the present.

"Wasn't _our_ first meeting funny?" Boomer asked, sounding mildly offended.

"_Mesh_," she mumbled through the cloth, nodding "yes".

"I don't think that our first meeting was that funny," Buttercup said to her sister. Ace was too preoccupied with tying up Bubbles to silence Buttercup. "I think that you looked too imposing to be funny."

"Come on," Brick laughed. "The way they were defeated was pretty silly."

"How did you find out about that?" Ace demanded, bristling a little at that comment.

"Mojo told us all about it," Boomer replied. "A trash can lid—that's classic!" They laughed, and Buttercup giggled a little. Her sisters' shoulders started shaking, and I saw amused tears forming in their eyes. I cringed from the embarrassment.

"Anyway, why exactly do you have to tie us up again?" Buttercup asked. I would have been glad for the change of subject had it not jumped from one uncomfortable topic to the harsh reality we were facing.

"I think that it has to do with that great plan of Him," Ace said. "Didn't he say that he didn't want for them running away?" I nodded, and the rest of the gang voiced their agreement.

"We wouldn't try running away with all of you around," Buttercup insisted. This was the last thing she said before Ace gagged her.

"I'm sorry, Butters," he told her, and she glared at the use of a nickname. "But it's like I said: we can't take any chances."

"Let's just get this over with," Butch muttered, helping Buttercup to her feet. He had been keeping to himself, and I wondered if he was on the brink of hysterics, too. The boys helped the girls walk towards the exit, and they helped them walk down the stairs.

"No more stalling, huh, boss?" Little Arturo said quietly. His English sounded a little forced, and I knew that he was one second away from launching into a Spanish monologue.

"Yes, Little Arturo," Ace agreed. "No more stalling."

We walked on in silence.

* * *

The Monster glared at the girls after they were bound to three of the chairs. I suppose that he was a little shocked at Blossom's eyes, which were screaming eagerness at an attempt to escape and be brilliant. We had even made it easier for them, to some extent—we were outside of the arcade. The Monster probably wanted for us to have a better view of whatever was going to ensue. He shrugged Blossom's ecstasy off when Ace asked, "Where did Mojo and Princess go?"

"You'll find out soon enough," was the incredibly vague answer. "They're bringing the Amoeba Boys." I made a mental note to pretend to act shocked when we saw Bouncy, the cannon, and the army of Amoeba Boys.

A faint scream echoed in the distance, and the Monster grinned in pure delight. The girls squirmed a little, and I heard the bashing and banging of something heavy being dragged…followed by what sounded like miles and miles of feet covered with chewing gum stomping by. And when the sources of the sounds came into view, I looked—and felt—very much surprised.

It was Mojo Jojo, Princess, and the largest gathering of Amoeba Boys in the world. Mojo and Princess were operating some robotic vehicle, and that vehicle was dragging the whole containment field and the cannon along. I saw Bouncy lightly—but frantically—tapping on the metal walls of her prison. The Amoeba Boy Army was flocked around her prison and the cannon, very nearly obscuring her view of us and our view of her. The soldiers were muttering to themselves in what sounded like one collective voice. It was a terrible sight, one that didn't seem to please the Monster very much…or at least, it put him on edge. He looked skeptical, as if the whole thing was silly or stupid. I wondered if he was going to call the whole thing off. I was praying that he would say, "I'm sorry, you've been such dears to contribute to this. But this is such a silly waste of time after all. Ciao!" And he'd disappear in a puff of smoke, and then the girls would get their powers back, beat us within an inch of our lives, and then take us to jail. Everything would be the way it was before.

But I don't think that the Creature was the kind to give up easily…or the kind to ignore the strong chance to take over the city of Townsville…and he didn't say anything. He eyed the containment field, and he did gasp a little when he saw the pure energy had the form of a Powerpuff Girl. He turned to the three that were tied to the chairs and he laughed out loud. "See that?" He giggled maniacally. "Do you see that?"

"_Miss it Money_?" Bubbles muttered through her gag, her eyes wide with shock.

"_Money's collar fuzz burp-el_," Buttercup snapped through her own, but her eyes did not betray any signs of her being terribly cross. She was just as shocked as her sister.

"_Money's fed_," Blossom said impatiently, and I wondered why she wasn't going through all of that Houdini nonsense by trying to escape. They were talking about someone or something called 'Money', I gathered that much through their broken conversation.*

"Tell them, Mojo!" The Monster cried out triumphantly when the containment field came to a complete stop in front of the arcade. The crowd of Amoeba Boys halted and scrambled for order. "Tell them what that thing really is!"

Mojo glared at Him, apparently not too happy about having Bouncy being referred to as a 'thing'. There were a few moments in which he chose to remain silent, and I wondered if he was contemplating what to say, reluctant to say it, staying silent to spite Him, or some combination of the three.

But he did tell the girls what they needed to know. He did not refer to Bouncy by name. He called her "she" once and he hastily—but somewhat reluctantly—altered this to avoid any suspicion. The girls listened closely, and by the time the monkey had finished speaking, all eyes were on the three of them.

They each had a glint of severe concentration in their eyes, like they were struggling with something important…and I knew, to some extent, what they were dealing with. Bubbles, for example, looked like she was fighting back tears. Buttercup was twitching uncontrollably, and I realized that Mojo hadn't explained the bond Bouncy probably had with Buttercup. He didn't have to. She was now painfully aware of it, and she was fighting against that urge to use her new superpower.

And then Blossom had her brow furrowed, but I didn't pay too much attention to her for long. Most of us turned to Bouncy. The connection must have been overwhelming for her, and she was frantically clawing at the walls of her prison, shrieking in anguish. Her screams were even worse than the ones she had made back at the lab, and I think that we were all fighting down the urge to cover our ears.

The Creature kept calm, and he took control again. "Now," he called over the screams, "everyone clear the way! Clear the way here!" He pointed to an area directly in front of the cannon, and the Amoeba Boys that were in front of the cannon cleared the way. "A little bit more…a little bit more…there! That's perfect! Nobody come any closer!" I could see that the cannon had been attached to the containment field, completing the weapon of mass destruction.

And the Monster turned to Mojo Jojo. "Fire at the ground," he ordered, pointing to the empty space in the road.

"What?" I heard Big Billy ask Ace, but nobody understood this order.

"Fire it into the ground," The Monster repeated, pointing at Bouncy. "Do it NOW!"

"What is the purpose of—?" Mojo began.

"If you don't do it," the Monster said in a warning voice, "I'm going to fire at your lab. Fire it at the ground."

Little Arturo was whispering now in broken Spanish, and Bubbles and Big Billy were crying. Princess had eyes that looked like they were going to pop out of her head…and they were looking at Him, who was looking at Mojo, who was looking at Bouncy, who was looking at Buttercup…

And she was looking at Ace…

…and he was also looking at Him. We watched Mojo direct the cannon at the ground, and two things crossed my mind at that moment.

The first of these was Princess's words earlier…about missing and hitting Him by "accident". Was she trying to remind Mojo of this? What was going on?

Second, Bouncy was difficult to control…would she hit the intended mark? Would she bounce back? Was she going to die?

Were we all going to die?

Mojo was controlling the cannon with a weird hand-held device covered in blinking, colorful lights. He pressed one of them.

And everything went orange…this brilliant, shimmering orange. And I heard the lingering screams of several people…

When the brilliant orange faded, I saw that Bouncy was gone from her prison. There was a hole in the road, and the orange glow was coming from within it, like it was a volcano without actual lava…just the heat. The Monster was grinning triumphantly, hovering over the mark the weapon had made. And I noticed that Blossom was free, and she got to her feet shakily, also looking at the damage done.

Then the laughter began…and the singing. It was gibberish, I knew that, and it was shrieking up at us from the hole, rejoicing.

I gathered up my courage and wandered over to the hole, peering down. I saw that Bouncy was still there…she was resting miles beneath the earth, her orange glow strong. She was perfectly still, and I couldn't tell if she was unconscious, dead, or simply resting. It was beautiful to watch, in a sense, but it was still horrifying.

And it became a lot worse when I saw that there were others down there…creatures like Him! They were crawling up, out of the ground, using their hands and feet. They stared towards the light and they jeered at it. And their chorus of unearthly voices chanted a victory song, and I became very weak in the head.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" A different voice screamed, and I was pulled out of my horror-induced daze. I turned to face him, and I saw that he was helping to free the Powerpuff Girls. "DO SOMETHING!"

* * *

**A/N: "And they all lived happily ever after."**

**No, I'm totally kidding. So begins the final showdown…**

**I am so sorry about my lack of updates lately! But I've been busy, my brother was sick, and I had personal projects to work on, blah blah blah… **

**Anyway, the translation with what the girls were saying through their gags!**

**BUBBLES: Is it Bunny?**

**BUTTERCUP: Bunny's color is purple…**

**BLOSSOM: Bunny's dead.**

**Get ready for an awesome BATTLE! (This will be my first action scene, so please be nice with the reviews! Speaking of reviews…why don't you try out the new review thingy?)**

**Hugs to all of those who have reviewed!**


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